ITH 


CoRunnn 


Gfl-Hcrvry 


WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 


TERENCE  FINDS  THAT  THE  SEA-HORSE  HAS  BEEN  BADLY  MAULED 
BETWEEN-DECKS. 


WITH  MOORE  AT  COMMA 


BY 

G.   A.    HENTY 

Author  of  "With  Cochrane  the  Dauntless,"  "A  Knight  of  the  White  Cross,"  "In 
Freedom's  Cause,"  "St.  Bartholomew's  Eve,"  "Wulf  the  Saxon,"  etc. 


WITH  TWELVE  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  WAL  PA  GET 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES     SCRIBNER'S     SONS 
1912 


of  Educ*  L 


COPYRIGHT,  1897,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


GIFT 


tfsr 


PREFACE 

FROM  the  termination  of  the  campaigns  of  Marlborough  — 
at  which  time  the  British  army  won  for  itself  a  reputation 
rivalled  by  that  of  no  other  in  Europe  —  to  the  year  when 
the  despatch  of  a  small  army  under  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley 
marked  the  beginning  of  another  series  of  British  victories  as 
brilliant  and  as  unbroken  as  those  of  that  great  commander, 
the  opinion  had  gained  ground  in  Europe  that  the  British  had 
lost  their  military  virtues,  and  that,  although  undoubtedly 
powerful  at  sea,  they  could  have  henceforth  but  little  influence 
in  European  affairs.  It  is  singular  that  the  revival  of  Britain's 
activity  began  under  a  Government  which  was  one  of  the  most 
incapable  that  ever  controlled  the  affairs  of  the  country.  Had 
their  deliberate  purpose  been  to  render  nugatory  the  expe- 
dition which  —  after  innumerable  vacillations  and  changes 
of  purpose  —  they  despatched  to  Portugal,  they  could  hardly 
have  acted  otherwise  than  they  did. 

Their  agents  in  the  Peninsula  were  men  singularly  unfitted 
for  the  position.  Then  the  Government  divided  the  com- 
mands among  their  generals  and  admirals,  sending  to  each 
absolutely  contradictory  orders,  and  when  at  last  they  brought 
themselves  to  appoint  one  to  the  supreme  command,  they 
changed  that  commander  six  times  in  the  course  of  a  year. 
While  lavishing  enormous  sums  of  money,  arms,  clothing,  and 
materials  of  war  upon  the  Spaniards,  who  wasted  or  pocketed 
them,  they  kept  their  own  army  unsupplied  with  money, 
transport,  or  clothes.  Unsupported  by  the  home  authorities, 

M723340 


PREFACE 

the  British  commanders  had  yet  to  struggle  with  the  faithless- 
ness, mendacity,  and  inertness  of  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish 
authorities,  and  were  hampered  with  obstacles  such  as  never 
beset  a  British  commander  before.  Still,  in  spite  of  this,  Brit- 
ish genius  and  valour  triumphed  over  all  difficulties,  and 
Wellesley  delivered  Lisbon  and  compelled  the  French  army 
to  surrender. 

Then  again,  Moore,  by  his  marvellous  march,  checked  the 
course  of  victory  of  Napoleon  and  saved  Spain  for  a  time. 
Cradock  organized  an  army,  and  Wellesley  hurled  back  Soult's 
invasion  of  the  north,  and  drove  his  army,  a  dispirited  and 
worn-out  mass  of  fugitives,  across  the  frontier,  and  in  less  than 
a  year  from  the  commencement  of  the  campaign  carried  the 
war  into  Spain.  So  far  I  have  endeavoured  to  sketch  the 
course  of  these  events  in  the  present  volume.  But  the  whole 
course  of  the  Peninsular  War  was  far  too  long  to  be  condensed 
in  a  single  book,  except  in  the  form  of  history  pure  and  sim- 
ple ;  therefore,  I  have  been  obliged  to  divide  it  into  two  vol- 
umes ;  and  I  propose  next  year  to  follow  up  the  adventures 
of  my  present  hero,  who  had  the  good  fortune,  with  Trant, 
Wilson,  and  other  British  officers,  to  attain  the  command  of 
a  body  of  native  irregulars,  acting  in  connection  with  the 
movements  of  the  British  army. 

Yours  sincerely, 

G.  A.  HENTY. 


CONTENTS 


CHA». 

I.  THE  MAYO  FUSILIERS,  .......  i 

II.  Two  DANGERS,      .                       .....  *> 

III.  DISEMBARKED,        ........  39 

IV.  UNDER  CANVAS,     ........  57 

V.      ROLICA  AND  VlMIERA,     .......      75 

VI.  A  PAUSE,         .........    94 

VII.  THE  ADVANCE,       ........  "2 

VIII.  A  FALSE  ALARM,    ........  131 

IX.  THE  RETREAT,       ........  149 

X.  CORUNNA,       .........  167 

XI.  AN  ESCAPE,    .........  185 

XII.  A  DANGEROUS  MISSION,         ......  203 

XIII.  AN  AWKWARD  POSITION,       ......  219 

XIV.  AN  INDEPENDENT  COMMAND,         .....  241 
XV.  THE  FIRST  SKIRMISH,    .......  259 

XVI.  IN  THE  PASSES,      ........  275 

XVII.  AN  ESCAPE  ........    ^  •       .294 

XVIII.  MARY  O'CONNOR,    .       .        .        .       .       •        •        .312 

XIX.  CONFIRMED  IN  COMMAND,      ......  33° 

XX.  WITH  THE  MAYOS,         .......  35° 

XXI.  PORTUGAL  FREED  .........  3&9 

XXII.  NEWS  FROM  HOME,        .......  386 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

TERENCE  FINDS  THAT  THE  SEA-HORSE  HAS  BEEN  BADLY  MAULED 

BETWEEN-DECKS,       .         .         ...         .     frontispiece,     30 

Two  FRENCH  PRIVATEERS  BEAR  DOWN  UPON  THE  SEA-HORSE,   .     24 

"  I  SHOULD  NOT   HAVE  MINDED  BEING  HIT,   FATHER,  IF  YOU 
HAD  ESCAPED," 94 

"I  AM  TOLD  THAT  YOU  WISH  TO  SPEAK  TO  ME,  GENERAL,"      .  Il6 

"WHAT  DO  YOU  MEAN,  TERENCE?    .    .    .    WE  WOULD  HAVE 
THRASHED  THEM  OUT  OF  THEIR  BOOTS  IN  NO  TIME,"  .        .156 

"  POOR  OLD  JACK  !  HE  HAS   CARRIED  ME  WELL  EVER  SINCE  I 
GOT  HIM  AT  TORRES  VEDRAS," 186 

TERENCE   RECEIVES  A  PRESENT  OF  A  HORSE  FROM  SIR  JOHN 
CRADOCK, 220 

"  IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  JUNTA  I  DEMAND  THAT  AMMUNITION," 
SAID  CORTINGOS, 232 

"  THE  FRENCH  CAVALRY  RODE  UP  TOWARDS  THE  SQUARES,  BUT 
WERE  MET  WITH  HEAVY  VOLLEYS," 268 

"  MACWITTY  WAS  STANDING  COVERING  THE  TWO  BOATMEN  WITH 
HIS  PISTOLS," 310 

TERENCE  BIDS  GOOD-BYE  TO  HIS  COUSIN,  MARY  O'CONNOR,      .  350 

"WHO  ARE  YOU,  SIR,  AND   WHAT  TROOPS   ARE  THESE?"  SlR 
ARTHUR  ASKED,  SHARPLY,     ..,,...  368 


WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 


CHAPTER   I 

THE   MAYO    FUSILIERS 

|HAT  am  I  to  do  with  you,  Terence  ?  It  bothers 
me  entirely ;  there  is  not  a  soul  who  will  take 
you,  and  if  anyone  would  do  so,  you  would 
wear  out  his  patience  before  a  week's  end;  there 
is  not  a  dog  in  the  regiment  that  does  not  put 
his  tail  between  his  legs  and  run  for  his  bare  life  if  he  sees 
you ;  and  as  for  the  colonel,  he  told  me  only  the  other  day 
that  he  had  so  many  complaints  against  you,  that  he  was  fairly 
worn  out  with  them." 

"  That  was  only  his  way,  father ;  the  colonel  likes  a  joke  as 
well  as  any  of  them." 

"Yes,  when  it  is  not  played  on  himself;  but  you  haven't 
even  the  sense  to  respect  persons,  and  it  is  well  for  you  that 
he  could  not  prove  that  it  was  you  who  fastened  the  sparrow 
to  the  plume  of  feathers  on  his  shako  the  other  day,  and  no 
one  noticed  it  till  the  little  baste  began  to  flutter  just  as  he 
came  on  to  parade,  and  nigh  choked  us  all  with  trying  to 
hold  in  our  laughter,  while  the  colonel  was  nearly  suffocated 


2  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

with  passion.  It  was  lucky  you  were  able  to  prove  that  you 
had  gone  off  at  daylight  fishing,  and  that  no  one  had  seen 
you  anywhere  near  his  quarters.  By  my  faith,  if  he  could  have 
proved  it  was  you  he  would  have  had  you  turned  out  of  the 
barrack  gate,  and  word  given  to  the  sentries  that  you  were  not 
to  be  allowed  to  pass  in  again." 

"  I  could  have  got  over  the  wall,  father,"  the  boy  said, 
calmly;  "  but  mind,  I  never  said  that  it  was  I  who  fastened 
the  sparrow  in  his  shako." 

"  Because  I  never  asked  you,  Terence ;  but  it  does  not  need 
the  asking.  What  I  am  to  do  with  you  I  don't  know.  Your 
Uncle  Tim  would  not  take  you  if  I  were  to  go  down  upon  my 
knees  to  him.  You  were  always  in  his  bad  books,  and  you 
finished  it  when  you  fired  off  that  blunderbuss  in  his  gar- 
den as  he  was  passing  along  in  the  twilight,  and  yelled  out 
'  Death  to  the  Protestants  !  '  " 

The  boy  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter.  "  How  could  I  tell 
that  he  was  going  to  fall  flat  upon  the  ground  and  shout  a  mill- 
ion murders,  when  I  fired  straight  into  the  air?" 

"  Well,  you  did  for  yourself  there,  Terence.  Not  that  the 
old  man  would  ever  have  taken  to  you,  for  he  never  forgave 
my  marriage  with  his  niece ;  still,  he  might  have  left  you  some 
money  some  day,  seeing  that  there  is  no  one  nearer  to  him, 
and  it  would  have  come  in  mighty  useful,  for  you  are  not 
likely  to  get  much  from  me.  But  we  are  no  nearer  the 
point  yet.  What  am  I  to  do  with  you  at  all  ?  Here  is  the 
regiment  ordered  on  foreign  service  and  likely  to  have  sharp 
work,  and  not  a  place  where  I  can  stow  you.  It  beats  me 
altogether  !  " 

"  Why  not  take  me  with  you,  father?  " 

"  I  have  thought  of  that,  but  you  are  too  young  en- 
tirely." 

"I  am  nearly  sixteen,  father.     I  am  sure  I  am  as  tall  as 


THE  MAYO  FUSILIERS  3 

many  boys  of  seventeen,  and  as  strong  too.  Why  should  I 
not  go  ?  I  am  certain  I  could  stand  roughing  it  as  well  as 
Dick  Ryan,  who  is  a  good  bit  over  sixteen.  Could  I  not  go 
as  a  volunteer  ?  Or  I  might  enlist ;  the  doctor  would  pass  me 
quick  enough." 

"  O'  Flaherty  would  pass  you  if  you  were  a  baby  in  arms; 
he  is  as  full  of  mischief  as  you  are,  and  has  not  much  more  dis- 
cretion ;  but  you  could  not  carry  a  musket,  full  cartridge-box, 
and  kit  for  a  long  day's  march. " 

"I  can  carry  a  gun  through  a  long  day's  shooting,  dad; 
but  you  might  make  me  your  soldier  servant." 

"  Bedad,  I  should  fare  mighty  badly,  Terence;  still  as  I 
don't  see  anything  else  for  you,  I  must  try  and  take  you  some- 
how, even  if  you  have  to  go  as  a  drummer.  I  will  talk 
it  over  with  the  colonel,  though  I  doubt  whether  he  has  for- 
gotten that  sparrow  yet." 

"  He  would  not  bear  malice,  dad,  even  if  he  were  sure  that 
it  was  me — which  he  cannot  be." 

The  speaker  was  Captain  O'Connor  of  his  Majesty's  regi- 
ment of  Mayo  Fusiliers,  now  under  orders  to  proceed  to 
Portugal  to  form  part  of  the  force  that  was  being  despatched 
under  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  to  assist  the  Portuguese  in  resist- 
ing the  advance  of  the  French.  He  was  a  widower,  and  Ter- 
ence was  his  only  child.  The  boy  had  been  brought  up  in  the 
regiment.  His  mother  had  died  when  he  was  nine  years  old, 
and  Terence  had  been  allowed  by  his  father  to  run  pretty 
nearly  wild.  He  picked  up  a  certain  amount  of  education, 
for  he  was  as  sharp  at  lessons  as  at  most  other  things.  His 
mother  had  taught  him  to  read  and  write,  and  the  officers  and 
their  wives  were  always  ready  to  lend  him  books  ;  and  as,  dur- 
ing the  hours  when  drill  and  exercise  were  going  on,  he  had 
plenty  of  time  to  himself,  he  had  got  through  a  very  large 
amount  of  desultory  reading,  and,  having  a  retentive  memory, 


4  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

knew  quite  as  much  as  most  lads  of  his  age,  although  the 
knowledge  was  of  a  much  more  irregular  kind. 

He  was  a  general  favourite  among  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
regiment,  though  his  tricks  got  him  into  frequent  scrapes,  and 
more  than  one  prophesied  that  his  eventual  fate  was  likely  to 
be  hanging.  He  was  great  at  making  acquaintances  among 
the  country  people,  and  knew  the  exact  spot  where  the  best 
fishing  could  be  had  for  miles  round  ;  he  had  also  been  given 
leave  to  shoot  on  many  of  the  estates  in  the  neighbourhood. 

His  father  had,  from  the  first,  absolutely  forbidden  him  to 
associate  with  the  drummer  boys. 

"  I  don't  mind  your  going  into  the  men's  quarters,"  he 
said,  "  you  will  come  to  no  harm  there,  but  among  the  boys 
you  might  get  into  bad  habits ;  some  of  them  are  thorough 
young  scamps.  With  the  men  you  would  always  be  one  of 
their  officers'  sons,  while  with  the  boys  you  would  soon  be- 
come a  mere  playmate." 

As  he  grew  older,  Terence,  being  a  son  of  one  of  the  senior 
officers,  became  a  companion  of  the  ensigns,  and  one  or  other 
of  them  generally  accompanied  him  on  his  fishing  excursions, 
and  were  not  unfrequently  participators  in  his  escapades,  sev- 
eral of  which  were  directed  against  the  tranquillity  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Athlone.  One  night  the  bells  of  the  three  churches 
had  been  rung  simultaneously  and  violently,  and  the  idea  that 
either  the  town  was  in  flames,  or  that  the  French  had  landed,  or 
that  the  whole  country  was  up  in  arms,  brought  all  the  inhabi- 
tants to  their  doors  in  a  state  of  violent  excitement  and  scanty 
attire.  No  clew  was  ever  obtained  as  to  the  author  of  this 
outrage,  nor  was  anyone  able  to  discover  the  origin  of  the 
rumour  that  circulated  through  the  town,  that  a  large  amount 
of  gunpowder  had  been  stored  in  some  house  or  other  in  the 
market-place,  and  that  on  a  certain  night  half  the  town  would 
be  blown  into  the  air. 


THE   MAYO   FUSILIERS  5 

So  circumstantial  were  the  details  that  a  deputation  waited 
on  Colonel  Corcoran,  and  a  strong  search-party  was  sent  down 
to  examine  the  cellars  of  all  the  houses  in  the  market-place 
and  for  some  distance  round.  These  and  some  similar  occur- 
rences had  much  alarmed  the  good  people  of  Athlone,  and  it 
was  certain  that  more  than  one  person  must  have  been  con- 
cerned in  them. 

"  I  have  come,  Colonel,"  Captain  O'Connor  said,  when  he 
called  upon  his  commanding  officer,  "  to  speak  to  you  about 
Terence." 

The  colonel  smiled  grimly.  "  It  is  a  comfort  to  think  that 
we  are  going  to  get  rid  of  him,  O'Connor ;  he  is  enough  to 
demoralize  a  whole  brigade,  to  say  nothing  of  a  battalion,  and 
the  worst  of  it  is  he  respects  no  one.  I  am  as  convinced  as 
can  be  that  it  was  he  who  fastened  that  baste  of  a  bird  in  my 
shako  the  other  day,  and  made  me  the  laughing  stock  of  the 
whole  regiment  on  parade.  Faith,  I  could  not  for  the  life  of 
me  make  out  what  was  the  matter,  there  was  a  tugging  and  a 
jumping  and  a  fluttering  overhead,  and  I  thought  the  shako 
was  going  to  fly  away.  It  fairly  gave  me  a  scare,  for  I  thought 
the  shako  had  gone  mad,  and  that  the  divil  was  in  it.  I  have 
often  overlooked  his  tricks  for  your  sake,  but  when  it  comes 
to  his  commanding  officer,  it  is  too  serious  altogether." 

"  Well,  you  see,  Colonel,  the  lad  proved  clearly  enough 
that  he  was  out  of  the  way  at  the  time ;  and  besides,  you 
know  he  has  given  you  many  a  hearty  laugh." 

"  He  has  that,"  the  colonel  admitted. 

"And,  moreover,"  Captain  O'Connor  went  on,  "even  if 
he  did  do  this,  which  I  don't  know,  for  I  never  asked  him  " 
("Trust  you  for  that,"  the  colonel  muttered),  "  you  are  not 
his  commanding  officer,  though  you  are  mine,  and  that  is 
the  matter  that  I  came  to  speak  to  you  about.  You  see  there 
is  no  one  in  whose  charge  I  can  leave  him,  and  the  lad 


6  WITH    MOORE  AT   CORUNNA 

wants  to  go  with  us ;  he  would  enlist  as  a  drummer,  if  he 
could  go  no  other  way,  and  when  he  got  out  there  I  should  get 
the  adjutant  to  tell  him  off  as  my  soldier  servant." 

"  It  would  not  do,  O'Connor,"  the  colonel  laughed. 

"  Then  I  thought,  Colonel,  that  possibly  he  might  go  as  a 
volunteer — most  regiments  take  out  one  or  two  young  fellows, 
who  have  not  interest  enough  to  obtain  a  commission." 

"He  is  too  young,  O'Connor;  besides,  the  boy  is  enough 
to  corrupt  a  whole  regiment ;  he  has  made  half  the  lads  as 
wild  as  he  is  himself.  Sure  you  can  never  be  after  asking  me  to 
saddle  the  regiment  with  him,  now  that  there  is  a  good  chance 
of  getting  quit  of  him  altogether. ' ' 

"  I  think  that  he  would  not  be  so  bad  when  we  are  out 
there,  Colonel ;  it  is  just  because  he  has  nothing  to  do  that 
he  gets  into  mischief.  With  plenty  of  hard  work  and  other 
things  to  think  of  I  don't  believe  that  he  would  be  any 
trouble." 

"  Do  you  think  that  you  can  answer  for  him,  O'Con- 
nor?" 

"  Indeed  and  I  cannot,"  the  captain  laughed ;  "  but  I  will 
answer  for  it  that  he  will  not  joke  with  you,  Colonel.  The  lad 
is  really  steady  enough,  and  I  am  sure  that  if  he  were  in  the 
regiment  he  would  not  dream  of  playing  tricks  with  his  com- 
manding officer,  whatever  else  he  might  do. ' ' 

"That  goes  a  long  way  towards  removing  my  objection," 
the  colonel  said,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  ;  "  but  he  is  too 
young  for  a  volunteer — a  volunteer  is  the  sort  of  man  to  be 
the  first  to  climb  a  breach,  or  to  risk  his  life  in  some  desper- 
ate enterprise,  so  as  to  win  a  commission.  But  there  is  an- 
other way.  I  had  a  letter  yesterday  from  the  Horse  Guards, 
saying  that  as  I  am  two  ensigns  short,  they  had  appointed  one 
who  will  join  us  at  Cork,  and  that  they  gave  me  the  right  of 
nominating  another.  I  own  that  Terence  occurred  to  me,  but 


THE   MAYO   FUSILIERS  7 

sixteen  is  the  youngest  limit  of  age,  and  he  must  be  certified 
and  all  that  by  the  doctor.  Now  Daly  is  away  on  leave,  and 
is  to  join  us  at  Cork;  but  O' Flaherty  would  do;  still,  I 
don't  know  how  he  would  get  over  the  difficulty  about  the 
age." 

"  Trust  him  for  that.  I  am  indeed  obliged  to  you,  Col- 
onel." 

"  Don't  say  anything  about  it,  O'Connor  ;  if  we  had  been 
going  to  stay  at  home  I  don't  think  that  I  could  have  brought 
myself  to  take  him  into  the  regiment,  but  as  we  are  going  on 
service  he  won't  have  much  opportunity  for  mischief,  and  even 
if  he  does  let  out  a  little — not  at  my  expense,  you  know — a 
laugh  does  the  men  good  when  they  are  wet  through  and  their 
stomachs  are  empty."  He  rang  a  bell.  "Orderly,  tell  the 
adjutant  and  Doctor  O' Flaherty  that  I  wish  to  see  them.  Mr. 
Cleary,"  he  went  on,  as  soon  as  the  former  entered,  "  I  have 
been  requested  by  the  Horse  Guards  to  nominate  an  ensign,  so 
as  to  fill  up  our  ranks  before  starting,  and  I  have  determined 
to  give  the  appointment  to  Terence  O'Connor." 

"  Very  well,  sir,  I  am  glad  to  hear  it ;  he  is  a  favourite  with 
us  all,  but  I  am  afraid  that  he  is  under  age." 

11  Is  there  any  regular  form  to  be  filled  up  ?  " 

"  None  that  I  know  of  in  the  case  of  officers,  sir.  I  fancy 
they  pass  some  sort  of  medical  examination  at  the  Hors*» 
Guards,  but,  of  course,  in  this  case  it  would  be  impossible. 
Still,  I  should  say  that,  in  writing  to  state  that  you  have 
nominated  him,  it  would  be  better  to  send  a  medical  certifi- 
cate, and  certainly  it  ought  to  be  mentioned  that  he  is  of  the 
right  age." 

At  this  moment  the  assistant-surgeon  entered. 

"Doctor  O'Flaherty,"  the  colonel  said,  "I  wish  you  to 
write  a  certificate  to  the  effect  that  Terence  O'Connor  is  phys- 
ically fit  to  take  part  in  a  campaign  as  an  officer." 


8  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"  I  can  do  that,  Colonel,  without  difficulty  ;  he  is  as  fit  as 
a  fiddle,  and  can  march  half  the  regiment  off  their  legs." 

"Yes,  I  know  that,  but  there  is  one  difficulty,  Doctor,  he 
is  under  the  regulation  age." 

O' Flaherty  thought  for  a  moment  and  then  sat  down  at  the 
table,  and  taking  a  sheet  of  paper,  be  began  : 

/  certify  that  Terence  O'  Connor  is  going  on  for  seventeen 
years  of  age,  he  is  five  feet  eight  in  height,  thirty-four  inches 
round  the  chest,  is  active,  and  fully  capable  of  the  performance 
of  his  duties  as  an  officer  either  at  home  or  abroad. 

Then  he  added  another  line  and  signed  his  name. 

"As  a  member  of  a  learned  profession,  Colonel,"  he  said, 
gravely,  "  I  would  scorn  to  tell  a  lie  even  for  the  son  of  Cap- 
tain O'Connor ;  "  and  he  passed  the  paper  across  to  him. 

The  colonel  looked  grave,  and  Captain  O'Connor  disap- 
pointed. He  was  reassured,  however,  when  his  commanding 
officer  broke  into  a  laugh. 

"That  will  do  well,  O' Flaherty,"  he  said;  "I  thought 
that  you  would  find  some  way  of  getting  us  out  of  the  diffi- 
culty." 

"  I  have  told  the  strict  truth,  Colonel,"  the  doctor  said, 
gravely.  "  I  have  certified  that  Terence  O'Connor  is  going 
on  for  seventeen  ;  I  defy  any  man  to  say  that  he  is  not.  He 
will  get  there  one  of  these  days,  if  a  French  bullet  does  not 
stop  him  on  the  way,  a  contingency  that  it  is  needless  for  me 
to  mention." 

"I  suppose  that  it  is  not  strictly  regular  to  omit  the  date 
of  his  birth,"  the  colonel  said  ;  "  but  just  at  present  I  expect 
they  are  not  very  particular.  I  suppose  that  that  will  do,  Mr. 
Cleary?" 

"  I  think  that  you  can  countersign  that,  Colonel,"  the  ad- 


THE  MAYO   FUSILIERS  9 

jutant  said,  with  a  laugh.  "  The  Horse  Guards  do  not  move 
very  rapidly,  and  by  the  time  that  letter  gets  to  London  we 
may  be  on  board  ship,  and  they  would  hardly  bother  to  send 
a  letter  for  further  particulars  to  us  in  Spain,  but  will  no  doubt 
gazette  him  at  once.  The  fact,  too — which  of  course  you 
will  mention — that  he  is  the  son  of  the  senior  captain  of  your 
regiment,  will  in  itself  render  them  less  likely  to  bother  about 
the  matter." 

"  Well,  just  write  out  the  letter  of  nomination,  deary;  I 
am  a  mighty  bad  hand  at  doing  things  neatly." 

The  adjutant  drew  a  sheet  of  foolscap  to  him  and  wrote  : — 

To  the  Adjutant-general,  Horse  Guards, 

Sir,  I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  that,  in  accordance 
with  the  privilege  granted  to  me  in  your  communication  of— 

and  he  looked  at  the  colonel. 

"The  i4th  inst.,"  the  latter  said,  after  consulting  the 
letter. 

— /  beg  to  nominate  as  an  ensign  in  this  regiment,  Terence 
O'  Connor,  the  son  of  Captain  Lawrence  O'  Connor,  its  senior 
captain.  I  inclose  certificate  of  Assistant-surgeon  Cf  Flaherty, 
— the  surgeon  being  at  present  absent  on  leave — certifying  to 
his  physical  fitness  for  a  commission  in  his  Majesty*  s  service. 
Mr.  O'  Connor  having  been  brought  up  from  childhood  in  the 
regiment  is  already  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  work,  and 
will  therefore  be  able  to  take  up  his  duties  without  difficulty. 
This  fact  has  had  some  influence  in  my  choice,  as  a  young 
officer  who  had  to  be  taught  all  his  duties  would  have  been  of 
no  use  for  senrice  in  the  field  for  a  considerable  time  after  land- 
ing in  Portugal. 

Relying  on  the  nomination  being  approved  by  the  commander- 


10  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

in-chief y  I  shall  at  once  put  him  on  the  staff  of  the  regiment  for 
foreign  service ,  as  there  will  be  no  time  to  wait  your  reply. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be 

Your  humble,  obedient  servant, 
Then  he  left  a  space,  and  added  : 

Colonel  Mayo  Fusiliers. 

"  Now,  if  you  will  sign  it,  Colonel,  the  matter  will  be  com- 
plete, and  I  will  send  it  off  with  O' Flaherty's  certificate  to- 
day. " 

"  That  is  a  good  stroke,  Cleary,"  the  colonel  said,  as  he 
read  it  aloud.  "  They  will  see  that  it  is  too  late  to  raise  any 
questions,  and  the  '  going  on  for  seventeen  '  will  be  accepted 
as  sufficient." 

He  touched  a  bell. 

"  Orderly,  tell  Mr.  Terence  O'Connor  that  I  wish  to  see 
him." 

Terence  was  sitting  in  a  state  of  suppressed  excitement  at 
his  father's  quarters.  He  had  a  strong  belief  that  the  matter 
would  be  managed  somehow,  for  he  knew  that  the  colonel  had 
no  malice  in  his  disposition,  and  would  not  let  the  episode  of 
the  bird — for  which  he  was  now  heartily  sorry — stand  in  the 
way.  On  receiving  the  message  he  at  once  went  across  to  the 
colonel's  quarters.  The  latter  rose  and  held  out  his  hand  to 
him  as  he  entered. 

"  Terence  O'Connor,"  he  said,  "  I  am  pleased  to  be  able 
to  inform  you  that  from  the  present  moment  you  are  to  con- 
sider yourself  an  officer  in  his  Majesty's  Mayo  Fusiliers.  The 
Horse  Guards  have  given  me  the  privilege  of  nominating  a  gen- 
tleman to  the  vacant  ensigncy,  and  I  have  had  great  pleasure 
in  nominating  your  father's  son.  Now,  lad,"  he  said,  in  a 
different  tone  of  voice,  "  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  do  credit  to 


THE   MAYO   FUSILIERS  11 

my  nomination,  and  that  you  will  keep  your  love  of  fun  and 
mischief  within  reasonable  bounds." 

"  I  will  try  to  do  so,  Colonel,"  the  lad  said,  in  a  low  voice, 
"  and  I  am  grateful  indeed  for  the  kindness  that  you  have 
shown  me.  I  have  always  hoped  that  some  day  I  might  ob- 
tain a  commission  in  your  regiment,  but  never  even  hoped 
that  it  would  be  until  after  I  had  done  something  to  deserve 
it.  Indeed  I  did  not  think  that  it  was  even  possible  that  I 
could  obtain  a  commission  until " 

"Tut,  tut,  lad,  don't  say  a  word  about  age!  Doctor 
O' Flaherty  had  certified  that  you  are  going  on  for  seventeen, 
which  is  quite  sufficient  for  me,  and  at  any  rate  you  will  see 
that  boyish  tricks  are  out  of  place  in  the  case  of  an  officer  go- 
ing on  for  seventeen.  Now,  your  father  had  best  take  you 
down  into  the  town  and  get  you  measured  for  your  uniforms 
at  once.  You  must  make  them  hurry  on  with  his  undress 
clothes,  O'Connor.  I  should  not  bother  about  full-dress  till 
we  get  back  again  ;  it  is  not  likely  to  be  wanted,  and  the  lad 
will  soon  grow  out  of  them.  If  there  should  happen  to  be 
full-dress  parade  in  Portugal,  Cleary  will  put  him  on  as  offi- 
cer of  the  day,  or  give  him  some  duties  that  will  keep  him 
from  parade.  We  may  get  the  route  any  day,  and  the  sooner 
he  gets  his  uniform  the  better." 

Two  days  later  Terence  took  his  place  on  parade  as  an  offi- 
cer of  the  regiment.  He  had  witnessed  such  numberless  drills 
that  he  had  picked  up  every  word  of  command,  knew  his 
proper  place  in  every  formation,  and  fell  into  the  work  as 
readily  as  if  he  had  been  at  it  for  years.  He  had  been  heartily 
congratulated  by  the  officers  of  the  regiment. 

"  I  am  awfully  glad  that  you  are  one  of  us,  Terence,"  Dick 
Ryan  said.  "  I  don't  know  what  we  should  have  done  with- 
out you.  I  expect  we  shall  have  tremendous  fun  in  Portu- 
gal." 


12  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"  I  expect  we  shall,  Dick  ;  but  we  shall  have  to  be  careful. 
We  shall  be  on  active  service,  you  see,  and  from  what  they 
say  of  him  I  don't  think  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  is  the  sort  of 
man  to  appreciate  jokes. ' ' 

"  No,  I  should  say  not.  Of  course,  we  shall  have  to  draw 
in  a  bit.  It  would  not  do  to  set  the  bells  of  Lisbon  ringing." 

"  I  should  think  not,  Dick.  Still,  I  dare  say  we  shall  have 
plenty  of  fun,  and  at  any  rate  we  are  likely,  from  what  they 
say,  to  have  plenty  of  fighting.  I  don't  expect  the  Portuguese 
will  be  much  good,  and  as  there  are  forty  or  fifty  thousand 
Frenchmen  in  Portugal,  we  shall  have  all  our  work  to  do,  un- 
less they  send  out  a  much  bigger  force  than  is  collecting  at 
Cork.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  10,000  men  who  have  been  sent 
out  to  Sweden  on  what  my  father  says  is  a  fool's  errand  are 
not  going  with  us  instead.  We  might  make  a  good  stand-up 
fight  of  it  then,  whereas  I  don't  see  that  with  only  6,000  or 
7,000  we  can  do  much  good  against  Junot's  40,000." 

"  Oh,  I  dare  say  we  shall  get  on  somehow !  "  Dick  said, 
carelessly.  "  Sir  Arthur  knows  what  he  is  about,  and  it  is  our 
turn  to  do  something  now.  The  navy  has  had  it  all  its  own 
way  so  far,  and  it  is  quite  fair  that  we  should  do  our  share.  I 
have  a  brother  in  the  navy,  and  the  fellows  are  getting  too 
cheeky  altogether.  They  seem  to  think  that  no  one  can  fight 
but  themselves.  Except  in  Egypt  we  have  never  had  a  chance 
at  all  of  showing  we  can  lick  the  French  just  as  easily  on  land 
as  we  can  at  sea." 

"  I  hope  we  shall,  Dick.  They  have  certainly  had  a  great 
deal  more  practice  at  it  than  we  have." 

"  Now  I  think  we  ought  to  do  something  here  that  they 
will  remember  us  for  before  we  start,  Terence." 

"  Well,  if  you  do,  I  am  not  with  you  this  time,  Dick.  I 
am  not  going  to  begin  by  getting  in  the  colonel's  bad  books 
after  he  has  been  kind  enough  to  nominate  me  for  a  commis- 


THE   MAYO    FUSILIERS  13 

sion.  I  promised  him  that  I  would  try  and  not  get  into  any 
scrapes,  and  I  am  not  going  to  break  my  word.  When  we 
once  get  out  there  I  shall  be  game  to  join  in  anything  that  is 
not  likely  to  make  a  great  row,  but  I  have  done  with  it  for  the 
present. ' ' 

"  I  should  like  to  have  one  more  good  bit  of  fun,"  Ryan 
said;  "  but  I  expect  you  are  right,  Terence,  in  what  you  say 
about  yourself,  and  it  is  no  use  our  thinking  to  humbug  Ath- 
lone  again  if  you  are  not  in  it  with  us  ;  besides,  they  are  get- 
ting too  sharp.  They  did  not  half  turn  out  last  time,  and, 
indeed,  we  had  a  narrow  escape  of  being  caught.  Well,  I  shall 
be  very  glad  when  we  are  off;  it  is  stupid  work  waiting  for  the 
route,  with  all  leave  stopped,  and  we  not  even  allowed  to  go 
out  for  a  day's  fishing." 

Three  days  later  the  expected  order  arrived.  As  the  baggage 
had  all  been  packed  up,  that  which  was  to  be  left  behind  be- 
ing handed  over  to  the  care  of  the  barrack-master,  and  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  heavy  baggage  sent  on  by  cart,  there 
was  no  delay.  Officers  and  men  were  alike  delighted  that  the 
period  of  waiting  had  come  to  an  end,  and  there  was  loud 
cheering  in  the  barrack- yard  as  soon  as  the  news  came.  At 
daybreak  next  morning  the  rest  of  the  baggage  started  under 
a  guard,  and  three  hours  later  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  marched 
through  the  town  with  their  band  playing  at  their  head,  and 
amid  the  cheers  of  the  populace. 

As  yet  the  martial  spirit  that  was  roused  by  the  struggle  in 
the  Peninsula  had  scarcely  begun  to  show  itself,  but  there  was 
a  strong  animosity  to  France  throughout  England,  and  a  de- 
sire to  aid  the  people  of  Spain  and  Portugal  in  their  efforts 
for  freedom.  In  Ireland,  for  the  most  part,  there  was  no  such 
feeling.  Since  the  battle  of  the  Boyne  and  the  siege  of  Lim- 
erick, France  had  been  regarded  by  the  greater  portion  of  the 
peasantry,  and  a  section  of  the  population  of  the  towns,  as  the 


14  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

natural  ally  of  Ireland,  and  there  was  a  hope  that  when  Na- 
poleon had  all  Europe  prostrate  under  his  feet  he  would  come 
as  the  deliverer  of  Ireland  from  the  English  yoke.  Conse- 
quently, although  the  townspeople  of  Athlone  cheered  the 
regiment  as  it  marched  away,  the  country  people  held  aloof 
from  it  as  it  passed  along  the  road.  Scowling  looks  from  the 
women  greeted  it  in  the  villages,  while  the  men  ostentatiously 
continued  their  work  in  the  fields  without  turning  to  cast  a 
glance  at  them. 

Terence  was  not  posted  to  his  father's  company,  but  was  in 
that  of  Captain  O'Driscol,  although  the  lad  himself  would  have 
preferred  to  be  with  Captain  O'Grady,  with  whom  he  was  a 
great  favourite.  The  latter  was  one  of  the  captains  whose 
companies  were  unprovided  with  an  ensign,  and  he  had  asked 
the  adjutant  to  let  him  have  the  lad  instead  of  the  ensign  who 
was  to  join  at  Cork. 

"  The  matter  has  been  settled  the  other  way,  O'Grady ;  in 
the  colonel's  opinion  he  will  be  much  better  with  O'Driscol, 
who  is  more  likely  to  keep  him  in  order  than  you  are. ' ' 

O'Grady  was  one  of  the  most  original  characters  in  the 
regiment.  He  was  rather  under  middle  height,  and  had  a 
smooth  face,  a  guileless  and  innocent  expression,  and  a  habit 
of  opening  his  light-blue  eyes  as  in  wonder.  His  hair  was 
short,  and  stuck  up  aggressively ;  his  brogue  was  the  strong- 
est in  the  regiment ;  his  blunders  were  innumerable,  and  his 
look  of  amazement  at  the  laughter  they  called  forth  was 
admirably  feigned,  save  that  the  twinkle  of  his  eye  induced  a 
suspicion  that  he  himself  enjoyed  the  joke  as  well  as  anyone. 
His  good-humour  was  imperturbable,  and  he  was  immensely 
popular  both  among  men  and  officers. 

"  O'Driscol !  "  he  repeated,  in  mild  astonishment.  "  Do 
you  mean  to  say  that  O'Driscol  will  keep  him  in  better  order 
than  meself?  If  there  is  one  man  in  this  regiment  more 


THE   MAYO   FUSILIERS  15 

than  another  who  would  get  on  well  with  the  lad  it  is  meself, 
barring  none." 

"You  would  get  on  well  enough  with  him,  O'Grady,  I 
have  no  doubt,  but  it  would  be  by  letting  him  have  his  own 
way,  and  in  encouraging  him  in  mischief  of  all  kinds." 

O'Grady's  eyebrows  were  elevated,  and  his  eyes  expressed 
hopeless  bewilderment. 

"  You  are  wrong  entirely,  Cleary  ;  nature  intended  me  for 
a  schoolmaster,  and  it  is  just  an  accident  that  I  have  taken  to 
soldiering.  I  flatter  meself  that  no  one  looks  after  his  sub- 
alterns more  sharply  than  I  do.  My  only  fear  is  that  I  am 
too  severe  with  them.  I  may  be  mild  in  my  manners,  but  they 
know  me  well  enough  to  tremble  if  I  speak  sternly  to  them." 

"The  trembling  would  be  with  amusement,"  the  adjutant 
grumbled.  "Well,  the  colonel  has  settled  the  matter,  and 
Terence  will  be  in  Orders  to-morrow  as  appointed  to  O'Dris- 
col's  company,  and  the  other  to  yours." 

"Thank  you  for  nothing,  Cleary,"  O'Grady  said,  with 
dignity.  "You  would  have  seen  that  under  my  tuition  the 
lad  would  have  turned  out  one  of  the  smartest  officers  in  the 
regiment." 

"You  have  heard  of  the  Spartan  way  of  teaching  their 
sons  to  avoid  drunkenness,  Captain  O'Grady?  " 

"  Divil  a  word,  Cleary;  but  I  reckon  that  the  best  way 
with  the  haythens  was  to  keep  them  from  touching  whisky. 
It  is  what  I  always  recommend  to  the  men  of  my  company 
when  I  come  across  one  of  them  the  worse  for  liquor. ' ' 

The  adjutant  laughed.  "That  was  not  the  Spartan  way, 
O'Grady;  but  the  advice,  if  taken,  would  doubtless  have  the 
same  effect." 

"  And  who  were  the  Spartans  at  all?  " 

"I  have  not  time  to  tell  you  now,  O'Grady;  I  have  no 
end  of  business  on  my  hands." 


16  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"Thin  what  do  you  keep  me  talking  here  for?  haven't  I 
a  lot  of  work  on  me  hands  too.  I  came  in  to  ask  a  simple 
question,  and  instead  of  giving  me  a  civil  answer  you  kape 
me  wasting  my  time  wid  your  O'Driscols  and  your  Spartans 
and  all  kinds  of  rigmarole.  That  is  the  worst  of  being  in  an 
Irish  regiment,  nothing  can  be  done  widout  ever  so  much 
blather;  "  and  Captain  O'Grady  stalked  out  of  the  orderly- 
room. 

On  the  march  Terence  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  leave 
from  his  captain  to  drop  behind  and  march  with  his  friend 
Dick  Ryan.  The  marches  were  long  ones,  and  they  halted 
only  at  Parsonstown,  Templemore,  Tipperary,  and  Fermoy, 
as  the  colonel  had  received  orders  to  use  all  speed.  At  each 
place  a  portion  of  the  regiment  was  accommodated  in  the 
barracks,  while  the  rest  were  quartered  in  the  town.  Late  in 
the  evening  of  the  fifth  day's  march  they  arrived  at  Cork,  and 
the  next  day  went  on  board  the  two  transports  provided  for 
them,  and  joined  the  fleet  assembled  in  the  Cove.  Some 
of  the  ships  had  been  lying  there  for  nearly  a  month  waiting 
orders,  and  the  troops  on  board  were  heartily  weary  of  their 
confinement.  The  news,  however,  that  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley 
had  been  at  last  appointed  to  command  them,  and  that  they 
were  to  sail  for  Portugal,  had  caused  great  delight,  for  it  had 
been  feared  that  they  might,  like  other  bodies  of  troops,  be 
shipped  off  to  some  distant  spot,  only  to  remain  there  for 
months  and  then  to  be  brought  home  again. 

Nothing,  indeed,  could  exceed  the  vacillation  and  confu- 
sion that  reigned  in  the  English  cabinet  at  that  time.  The 
forces  of  England  were  frittered  away  in  small  and  objectless 
expeditions,  the  plans  of  action  were  changed  with  every 
report  sent  either  by  the  interested  leaders  of  insurrectionary 
movements  in  Spain,  or  by  the  signally  incompetent  men  who 
had  been  sent  out  to  represent  England,  and  who  distributed 


THE   MAYO    FUSILIERS  17 

broadcast  British  money  and  British  arms  to  the  most  unwor- 
thy applicants.  By  their  lavishness  and  subservience  to  the 
Spaniards  our  representatives  increased  the  natural  arrogance 
of  these  people,  and  caused  them  to  regard  England  as  a 
power  which  was  honoured  by  being  permitted  to  share  in 
the  Spanish  efforts  against  the  French  generals.  General 
Spencer  with  5,000  men  was  kept  for  months  sailing  up  and 
down  the  coast  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  receiving  contradic- 
tory orders  from  home,  and  endeavouring  in  vain  to  co-operate 
with  the  Spanish  generals,  each  of  whom  had  his  own  private 
purposes,  and  was  bent  on  gratifying  personal  ambitions  and 
of  thwarting  the  schemes  of  his  rivals,  rather  than  on  oppos- 
ing the  common  enemy. 

Not  only  were  the  English  ministry  incapable  of  devising 
any  plan  of  action,  but  they  were  constantly  changing  the 
naval  and  military  officers  of  the  forces.  At  one  moment  one 
general  or  admiral  seemed  to  possess  their  confidence,  while 
soon  afterwards,  without  the  slightest  reason,  two  or  three 
others  with  greater  political  influence  were  placed  over  his 
head  ;  and  when  at  last  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  whose  services 
in  India  marked  him  as  our  greatest  soldier,  was  sent  out  with 
supreme  military  power,  they  gave  him  no  definite  plan  of 
action.  General  Spencer  was  nominally  placed  under  his 
orders  by  one  set  of  instructions,  while  another  authorized 
him  to  commence  operations  in  the  south,  without  reference 
to  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley.  Admiral  Purvis,  who  was  junior  to 
Admiral  Collingwood,  was  authorized  to  control  the  operations 
of  Sir  Arthur,  while  Wellesley  himself  had  scarcely  sailed 
when  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  was  appointed  to  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  forces,  Sir  Harry  Burrard  was  appointed  second 
in  command,  and  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  was  reduced  to  the 
fourth  rank  in  the  army  that  he  had  been  sent  out  to  com- 
mand, two  of  the  men  placed  above  him  being  almost  un- 


18  WITH    MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

known,  they  never  having  commanded  any  military  force  in 
the  field. 

The  9,000  men  assembled  in  the  Cove  of  Cork  knew  noth- 
ing of  these  things  ;  they  were  going  out  under  the  command 
of  the  victor  of  Assaye  to  measure  their  strength  against  that 
of  the  French,  and  they  had  no  fear  of  the  result. 

"I  hope,"  Captain  O'Grady  said,  as  the  officers  of  the 
wing  of  the  regiment  to  which  he  belonged  sat  down  to  dinner 
for  the  first  time  on  board  the  transport,  "  that  we  shall  not 
have  to  keep  together  in  going  out." 

"  Why  so,  O'Grady  ? ' '  another  captain  asked. 

"  Because  there  is  no  doubt  at  all  that  our  ship  is  the  fast- 
est in  the  fleet,  and  that  we  shall  get  there  in  time  to  have  a 
little  brush  with  the  French  all  to  ourselves  before  the  others 
arrive." 

"What  makes  you  think  that  she  is  the  fastest  ship  here, 
O'Grady?" 

"  Anyone  can  see  it  with  half  an  eye,  O'Driscol.  Look  at 
her  lines ;  she  is  a  flyer,  and  if  we  are  not  obliged  to  keep 
with  the  others  we  shall  be  out  of  sight  of  the  rest  of  them 
before  we  have  sailed  six  hours." 

"I  don't  pretend  to  know  anything  about  her  lines, 
O'Grady,  but  she  looks  to  me  a  regular  old  tub." 

"  She  is  old,"  O'Grady  admitted,  reluctantly,  "  but  give 
her  plenty  of  wind  and  you  will  see  how  she  can  walk 
along." 

There  was  a  laugh  all  round  the  table ;  O'Grady's  absolute 
confidence  in  anything  in  which  he  was  interested  was  known 
to  them  all.  His  horse  had  been  notoriously  the  most  worth- 
less animal  in  the  regiment,  but  although  continually  last  in 
the  hunting  field,  O'Grady's  opinion  of  her  speed  was  never 
shaken.  There  was  always  an  excuse  ready ;  the  horse  had 
been  badly  shod,  or  it  was  out  of  sorts  and  had  not  had  its 


THE   MAYO   FUSILIERS  19 

feed  before  starting,  or  the  going  was  heavy  and  it  did  not 
like  heavy  ground,  or  the  country  was  too  hilly  or  too  flat  for 
it.  It  was  the  same  with  his  company,  with  his  non-commis- 
sioned officers,  with  his  soldier  servant,  a  notoriously  drunken 
rascal,  and  with  his  quarters. 

O'Grady  looked  round  in  mild  expostulation  at  the  laugh. 

"  You  will  see,"  he  said,  confidently,  "  there  can  be  no  mis- 
take about  it. ' ' 

Two  days  later  a  ship-of-war  entered  the  harbour,  the  usual 
salutes  were  exchanged,  then  a  signal  was  run  up  to  one  of  her 
mast-heads,  and  again  the  guns  of  the  forts  pealed  out  a  salute, 
and  word  ran  through  the  transports  that  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley 
was  on  board.  On  the  following  day  the  fleet  got  under  way, 
the  transports  being  escorted  by  a  line-of-battle  ship  and  four 
frigates,  which  were  to  join  Lord  Collingwood's  squadron  as 
soon  as  they  had  seen  their  charge  safe  into  the  Tagus. 

Before  evening  the  Sea-horse  was  a  mile  astern  of  the  rear- 
most ship  of  the  convoy,  and  one  of  the  frigates  sailing  back 
fired  a  gun  as  a  signal  to  her  to  close  up. 

"Well,  O'Grady,  we  have  left  the  fleet,  you  see,  though 
not  in  the  way  you  predicted." 

"  Whist,  man  !  don't  you  see  that  the  captain  is  out  of 
temper  because  they  have  all  got  to  keep  together,  instead  of 
letting  him  go  ahead  ?  " 

Every  rag  of  sail  was  now  piled  on  to  the  ship,  and  as  many 
of  the  others  were  showing  nothing  above  their  topgallant  sails 
she  rejoined  the  rest  just  as  darkness  fell. 

"There,  you  see!"  O'Grady  said,  triumphantly,  "look 
what  she  can  do  when  she  likes." 

"  We  do  see,  O'Grady.  With  twice  as  much  sail  up  as  any- 
thing else,  she  has  in  three  hours  picked  up  the  mile  she  had 
lost." 

"  Wait  until  we  get  some  wind." 


20  WITH   MOORE    At   CORUNNA 

"I  hope  we  sha'n't  get  anything  of  the  sort — at  least  no 
strong  winds ;  the  old  tub  would  open  every  seam  if  we  did, 
and  we  might  think  ourselves  lucky  if  we  got  through  it  at 
all." 

O'Grady  smiled  pleasantly,  and  said  it  was  useless  to  argue 
with  so  obstinate  a  man. 

"  I  am  afraid  O'Grady  is  wrong  as  usual,"  Dick  Ryan  said 
to  Terence,  who  was  sitting  next  to  him.  "  When  once  he  has 
taken  an  idea  into  his  head  nothing  will  persuade  him  that  he 
is  wrong ;  there  is  no  doubt  the  Sea-horse  is  as  slow  as  she  can 
be.  I  suppose  her  owners  have  some  interest  with  the  govern- 
ment, or  they  would  surely  never  have  taken  up  such  an  old 
tub  as  a  troop-ship." 


CHAPTER  II 

TWO     DANGERS 

THE  next  day,  in  spite  of  the  sail  she  carried,  the  Sea-horse 
lagged  behind,  and  one  of  the  frigates  sailed  back  to  her, 
and  the  captain  shouted  angry  orders  to  the  master  to  keep  his 
place  in  the  convoy. 

"  If  we  get  any  wind,"  O'Grady  said,  as  the  frigate  bore 
up  on  her  course  again,  "  it  will  take  all  your  time  to  keep  up 
with  her,  my  fine  fellow.  You  see,"  he  explained  to  Terence, 
"no  vessel  is  perfect  in  all  points;  some  like  a  good  deal  of 
wind,  some  are  best  in  a  calm.  Now  this  ship  wants  wind." 

"I  think  she  does,  Captain  O'Grady,"  Terence  replied, 
gravely.  "  At  any  rate  her  strong  point  is  not  sailing  in  a 
light  wind." 

"  No,"  O'Grady  admitted,  regretfully;  "  but  it  is  not  the 


TWO   DANGERS  21 

ship's  fault.  I  have  no  doubt  at  all  that  her  bottom  is  foul, 
and  that  she  has  a  lot  of  barnacles  and  weeds  twice  as  long  as 
your  body.  That  is  the  reason  why  she  is  a  little  sluggish." 

"  That  may  be  it,"  Terence  agreed  ;  "  but  I  should  have 
thought  that  they  would  have  seen  to  that  before  they  sent  her 
to  Cork." 

"  It  is  like  enough  that  her  owners  are  well-wishers  of  Na- 
poleon, Terence,  and  that  it  is  out  of  spite  that  they  have  done 
it.  There  is  no  doubt  that  she  is  a  wonderful  craft. ' ' 

"I  am  quite  inclined  to  agree  with  you,  Captain  O'Grady, 
for  as  I  have  never  seen  a  ship  except  when  the  regiment  came 
back  from  India  ten  years  ago,  I  am  no  judge  of  one." 

"  It  is  the  eye,  Terence.  I  can't  say  that  I  have  been  much 
at  sea  myself,  except  on  that  voyage  out  and  home;  but  I  have 
an  eye  for  ships,  and  can  see  their  good  points  at  a  glance. 
You  can  take  it  from  me  that  she  is  a  wonderful  vessel. ' ' 

"  She  would  look  all  the  better  if  her  sails  were  a  bit  cleaner, 
and  not  so  patched,"  Terence  said,  looking  up. 

"  She  might  look  better  to  the  eye,  lad,  but  no  doubt  the 
owners  know  what  they  are  doing,  and  consider  that  she  goes 
better  with  sails  that  fit  her  than  she  would  with  new  ones." 

Terence  burst  into  a  roar  of  laughter.  O'Grady,  as  usual, 
looked  at  him  in  mild  surprise. 

"  What  are  you  laughing  at,  you  young  spalpeen  ?  " 

"lam  thinking,  Captain  O'Grady,"  the  lad  said,  recover- 
ing himself,  "  that  it  is  a  great  pity  you  could  not  have  ob- 
tained the  situation  of  Devil's  Advocate.  I  have  read  that 
years  ago  someone  was  appointed  to  defend  Old  Nick  when 
the  others  were  pitching  into  him,  and  to  show  that  he  was 
not  as  black  as  he  was  painted,  but  was  a  respectable  gentle- 
man who  had  been  maligned  by  the  world." 

"  No  doubt  there  is  a  good  deal  to  be  said  for  him," 
O'Grady  said,  seriously.  ' '  Give  a  dog  a  bad  name,  you  know. 


2  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

and  you  may  hang  him ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  the  Old  One 
has  been  held  responsible  for  lots  of  things  he  never  had  as 
much  as  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  at  all,  at  all." 

Seeing  that  his  captain  was  about  to  pursue  the  matter  much 
further,  Terence,  making  the  excuse  that  it  was  time  he  went 
down  to  see  if  the  men's  breakfast  was  all  right,  slipped  off, 
and  he  and  Dick  Ryan  had  a  hearty  laugh  over  O'Grady's 
peculiarities. 

"  I  think,  O'Grady,"  Captain  O'Driscol  said,  two  days 
later,  "  we  are  going  to  have  our  opportunity,  for  unless  lam 
mistaken  there  is  going  to  be  a  change  of  weather.  Those 
clouds  banking  up  ahead  look  like  a  gale  from  the  south- 
west." 

Before  night  the  wind  was  blowing  furiously,  and  the  Sea- 
horse taking  green  sea  over  her  bows  and  wallowing  gunwale 
under  in  the  waves.  At  daylight,  when  they  went  on  deck, 
gray  masses  of  cloud  were  hurrying  overhead  and  an  angry  sea 
alone  met  the  eye.  Not  a  sail  was  in  sight,  and  the  whole 
convoy  had  vanished. 

"  We  are  out  of  sight  of  the  fleet,  O'Grady,"  Captain 
O'Driscol  said,  grimly. 

"  I  felt  sure  we  should  be,"  O'Grady  said,  triumphantly. 
"Sorra  one  of  them  could  keep  foot  with  us." 

"They  are  ahead  of  us,  man,"  O'Driscol  said,  angrily ; 
"  miles  and  miles  ahead." 

"  Ahead,  is  it?  You  must  know  better,  O'Driscol;  though 
it  is  little  enough  you  know  of  ships.  You  see  we  are  close- 
hauled,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  that  is  the  vessel's  strong 
point.  Why,  we  have  dropped  the  rest  of  them  like  hot  pota- 
toes, and  if  this  little  breeze  keeps  on,  maybe  we  shall  be  in 
the  Tagus  days  and  days  before  them." 

O'Driscol  was  too  exasperated  to  argue. 

"O'Driscol  is  a  good  fellow,"  O'Grady  said,  turning  to 


TWO   DANGERS  23 

Terence,  "but  it  is  a  misfortune  that  he  is  so  prejudiced. 
Now,  what  is  your  own  opinion  ?  ' ' 

"  I  have  no  opinion  about  it,  Captain  O'Grady.  I  have  a 
very  strong  opinion  that  I  am  not  going  to  enjoy  my  break- 
fast, and  that  this  motion  does  not  agree  with  me  at  all.  I 
have  been  ill  half  the  night.  Dick  Ryan  is  awfully  bad,  and 
by  the  sounds  I  heard  I  should  say  a  good  many  of  the  others 
are  the  same  way.  On  the  main  deck  it  is  awful ;  they  have 
got  the  hatches  battened  down.  I  just  took  a  peep  in  and 
bolted,  for  it  seemed  to  me  that  everyone  was  ill. ' ' 

"  The  best  plan,  lad,  is  to  make  up  your  mind  that  you  are 
quite  well.  If  you  once  do  that  you  will  be  all  right  di- 
rectly." 

Terence  could  not  for  the  moment  reply,  having  made  a 
sudden  rush  to  the  side. 

"I  don't  see  how  I  can  persuade  myself  that  I  am  quite 
well,"  he  said,  when  he  returned,  "  when  I  feel  terribly  ill." 

"Yes,  it  wants  resolution,  Terence,  and  I  am  afraid  that 
you  are  deficient  in  that.  It  must  not  be  half-and-half. 
You  have  got  to  say  to  yourself,  '  This  is  glorious ;  I  never 
enjoyed  myself  so  well  in  my  life,'  and  when  you  have  said 
that  and  feel  that  it  is  quite  true,  the  whole  thing  will  be 
over." 

"  I  don't  doubt  it  in  the  least,"  Terence  said ;  "  but  I  can't 
say  it  without  telling  a  prodigious  lie,  and  worse  still,  I  could 
not  believe  the  lie  when  I  had  told  it." 

"Then  I  am  afraid  that  you  must  submit  to  be  ill,  Ter- 
ence. I  know  once  that  I  had  a  drame,  and  the  drame  was 
that  I  was  at  sea  and  horribly  sea-sick,  and  I  woke  up  and 
said  to  myself,  '  This  is  all  nonsense,  I  am  as  well  as  ever  I 
was  ; '  and,  faith,  so  I  was." 

Ill  as  Terence  was,  he  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter. 

"That  was  just  a  dream,  Captain  O'Grady;  but  mine  is  a 


24  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

reality,  you  know.  I  don't  think  that  you  are  looking  quite 
well  yourself." 

"  I  am  perfectly  well  as  far  as  the  sea  goes,  Terence ;  never 
was  better  in  my  life ;  but  that  pork  we  had  for  dinner  yes- 
terday was  worse  than  usual,  and  I  think  perhaps  I  ought  to 
have  taken  another  glass  or  two  to  correct  it. ' ' 

"  It  must  have  been  the  pork,"  Terence  said,  as  seriously 
as  O'Grady  himself;  "and  it  is  unfortunate  that  you  are 
such  an  abstemious  man,  or,  as  you  say,  its  effects  might 
have  been  corrected." 

"It's  me  opinion,  Terence,  my  boy,  that  you  are  a  hum- 
bug." 

"Then,  Captain  O'Grady,  it  is  clear  that  evil  communica- 
tions must  have  corrupted  my  good  manners. ' ' 

"It  must  have  been  in  your  infancy  then,  Terence,  for 
divil  a  bit  of  manners  good  or  bad  have  I  ever  seen  in  you ; 
you  have  not  even  the  good  manners  to  take  a  glass  of  the 
cratur  when  you  are  asked." 

"That  is  true  enough,"  Terence  laughed.  "Having 
been  brought  up  in  the  regiment,  I  have  learned,  at  least,  that 
the  best  thing  to  do  with  whisky  is  to  leave  it  alone." 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  never  be  a  credit  to  us,  Terence." 

"  Not  in  the  way  of  being  able  to  make  a  heavy  night  of  it 
and  then  turn  out  as  fresh  as  paint  in  the  morning,"  Terence  re- 
torted ;  "but  you  see,  Captain  O'Grady,  even  my  abstinence 
has  its  advantages,  for  at  least  there  will  always  be  one  officer 
in  the  corps  able  to  go  the  round  of  the  sentries  at  night." 

At  this  moment  the  vessel  gave  such  a  heavy  lurch  that 
they  were  both  thrown  off  their  feet  and  rolled  into  the  lee- 
scuppers,  while,  at  the  same  moment,  a  rush  of  water  swept 
over  them.  Amidst  shouts  of  laughter  from  the  other  officers 
the  two  scrambled  to  their  feet. 

"  Holy  Moses  !  "  O'Grady  exclaimed,  "  I  am  drowned  en- 


TWO  FRENCH  PRIVATEERS  BEAR  DOWN  UPON  THE  SEA-HORSE, 


TWO   DANGERS  25 

tirely,  and  I  sha'n't  get  the  taste  of  the  salt  water  out  of  me 
mouth  for  a  week." 

"There  is  one  comfort,"  Terence  said;  "it  might  have 
been  worse." 

"How  could  it  have  been  worse?"  O'Grady  asked,  angrily. 

"Why,  if  we  hadn't  been  in  the  steadiest  ship  in  the 
whole  fleet  we  might  have  been  washed  overboard." 

There  was  another  shout  of  laughter.  O'Grady  made  a 
dash  at  Terence,  but  the  latter  easily  avoided  him  and  went 
down  below  to  change  his  clothes. 

The  gale  increased  in  strength,  and  the  whole  vessel  strained 
so  heavily  that  her  seams  began  to  open,  and  by  one  o'clock 
the  captain  requested  Major  Harrison,  who  was  in  command, 
to  put  some  of  the  soldiers  at  the  pumps.  For  three  days 
and  nights  relays  of  men  kept  the  pumps  going.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  400  troops  on  board,  the  Sea-horse  would  long 
before  have  gone  to  the  bottom ;  but  with  such  powerful  aid 
the  water  was  kept  under,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth 
day  the  storm  began  to  abate,  and  by  evening  more  canvas 
was  got  on  her.  The  next  morning  two  vessels  were  seen 
astern  at  a  distance  of  four  or  five  miles.  After  examining 
them  through  his  glass,  the  captain  sent  down  a  message  to 
Major  Harrison  asking  him  to  come  up.  Ih  three  or  four 
minutes  that  officer  appeared. 

"There  are  two  strange  craft  over  there,  Major;  from 
their  appearance  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  they  are 
French  privateers.  I  thought  I  should  like  your  advice  as  to 
what  had  best  be  done. ' ' 

"  I  don't  know.  You  see,  your  guns  might  just  as  well  be 
thrown  overboard  for  any  good  they  would  be,"  the  major 
said.  "The  things  would  not  be  safe  to  fire  a  salute  with 
blank  cartridge." 

"No,  they  can  hardly  be  called  serviceable,"  the  master 


$6  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

agreed.  "  I  spoke  to  the  owner  about  it,  but  he  said  that  as 
we  were  going  to  sail  with  a  convoy  it  did  not  matter,  and 
that  we  should  have  some  others  for  the  next  voyage." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  your  owner  dangling  from  the  yard- 
arm,"  the  major  said,  wrathfully.  "  However,  just  at  present 
the  question  is  what  had  best  be  done.  Of  course  they  could 
not  take  the  ship  from  us,  but  they  would  have  very  little 
difficulty  in  sinking  her." 

"  The  first  thing  is  to  put  on  every  stitch  of  sail." 

"  That  would  avail  us  nothing ;  they  can  sail  two  feet  to  our 
one." 

"Quite  so,  Major;  I  should  not  hope  to  get  away,  but 
they  would  think  that  I  was  trying  to  do  so.  My  idea  is 
that  we  should  press  on  as  fast  as  we  can  till  they  open  fire  at 
us ;  we  could  hold  on  for  a  bit,  and  then  haul  up  into  the 
wind  and  lower  our  top-sails,  which  they  will  take  for  a  proof 
of  surrender. ' ' 

"  You  won't  strike  the  flag,  Captain  ;  we  cannot  do  any- 
thing treacherous. ' ' 

"No,  no,  I  am  not  thinking  of  doing  that.  You  see,  the 
flag  is  not  hoisted  yet,  and  we  won't  hoist  it  at  all  till  they 
get  close  alongside,  then  we  can  haul  it  up,  and  sweep  their 
decks  with  musketry.  Of  course  your  men  will  keep  below 
until  the  last  moment." 

"  That  plan  will  do  very  well,"  the  major  agreed,  "  that  is, 
if  they  venture  to  come  boldly  alongside." 

-"One  is  pretty  sure  to  do  so,  though  the  other  may  lay 
herself  ahead  or  astern  of  us,  with  her  guns  pointed  to  rake 
us  in  case  we  make  any  resistance ;  but  seeing  what  we  are, 
and  that  we  carry  only  four  small  guns  each  side,  they  are 
hardly  likely  to  suspect  anything  wrong.  I  am  not  at  all 
afraid  of  beating  them  off;  my  only  fear  is  that  after  they 
have  sheared  away  they  will  open  upon  us  from  a  distance." 


TWO    DANGERS  27 

"  Yes,  that  would  be  awkward.  However,  if  they  do,  we 
must  keep  the  men  below,  and  in  the  meantime  you  had  bet- 
ter get  your  carpenter  to  cut  up  some  spars  and  make  a 
lot  of  plugs  in  readiness  to  stop  up  any  holes  they  make  near 
the  water-line.  I  don't  think  they  are  likely  to  make  very 
ragged  holes,  the  wood  is  so  rotten  the  shot  would  go 
through  the  side  as  if  it  were  brown  paper  ;  still,  you  might 
get  a  lot  of  squares  of  canvas  ready,  with  hammers  and  nails." 

The  strange  craft  were  already  heading  towards  the  Sea- 
horse. No  time  was  lost  in  setting  every  stitch  of  canvas 
that  she  could  carry ;  the  wind  was  light  now,  but  the  vessel 
was  rolling  heavily  in  a  long  swell.  The  major  examined  the 
guns  closely  and  found  that  they  were  even  worse  than  he  had 
anticipated,  the  rust  holes  eaten  in  the  iron  having  been  filled 
up  with  putty,  and  the  whole  painted.  He  was  turning  away, 
with  an  exclamation  of  disgust,  when  Terence,  who  was 
standing  near,  said  to  him : 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Major,  but  don't  you  think  that  if  we 
were  to  wind  some  thin  rope  very  tightly  round  them  three  or 
four  inches  thick,  they  might  stand  a  charge  or  two  of  grape  to 
give  them  at  close  quarters;  we  needn't  put  in  a  very  heavy 
charge  of  powder.  Even  if  they  did  burst,  I  should  think  that 
the  rope  would  prevent  the  splinters  from  flying  about." 

"  The  idea  is  not  a  bad  one  at  all,  Terence.  I  will  see  if 
the  captain  has  got  a  coil  or  two  of  thin  rope  on  board." 

Fortunately  the  ship  was  fairly  well  supplied  in  this  respect, 
and  a  few  of  the  sailors  who  were  accustomed  to  serving  rope, 
with  a  dozen  soldiers  to  help  them,  were  told  off  to  the  work. 
The  rope  was  wound  round  as  tightly  as  the  strength  of  a 
dozen  men  could  pull  it,  the  process  being  repeated  five  or  six 
times,  until  each  gun  was  surrounded  by  as  many  layers  of 
rope.  A  thin  rod  had  been  inserted  in  the  touch-hole.  The 
cannon  was  then  loaded  with  half  the  usual  charge  of  pow- 


28  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

der,  and  filled  to  the  muzzle  with  bullets.  The  rod  was 
then  drawn  out,  and  powder  poured  in  until  it  reached  the 
surface. 

While  this  was  being  done,  all  the  soldiers  not  engaged  in 
the  work  went  below,  and  the  officers  sat  down  under  shelter 
of  the  bulwarks.  The  two  privateers,  a  large  lugger  and  a 
brig,  had  been  coming  up  rapidly,  and  by  the  time  the  guns 
were  ready  for  action  they  were  but  a  mile  away.  Presently 
a  puff  of  smoke  burst  out  from  the  bows  of  the  lugger,  and  a 
round  shot  struck  the  water  a  short  distance  ahead  of  the  Sea- 
horse. She  held  on  her  course  without  taking  any  notice  of 
it,  and  for  a  few  minutes  the  privateer  was  silent ;  then,  when 
they  were  but  half  a  mile  away  the  brig  opened  fire,  and  two 
or  three  shots  hulled  the  vessel. 

"  That  will  do,  Captain,"  the  major  said.  "You  may  as 
well  lay-to  now." 

The  Sea-horse  rapidly  flew  up  into  the  wind,  the  sheets  were 
thrown  off,  and  the  upper  sails  were  lowered,  one  after  the 
other,  the  job  being  executed  slowly,  as  if  by  a  weak  crew. 
The  two  privateers,  which  had  been  sailing  within  a  short 
distance  of  each  other,  now  exchanged  signals,  and  the  lugger 
ran  on,  straight  towards  the  Sea-horse,  while  the  brig  took  a 
course  which  would  lay  her  across  the  stern  of  the  barque, 
and  enable  them  to  rake  her  with  her  broadside.  Word  was 
passed  below,  and  the  soldiers  poured  up  on  deck,  stooping  as 
they  reached  it,  and  taking  their  places  under  the  bulwarks. 
The  major  had  already  asked  for  volunteers  among  the  officers, 
to  fire  the  guns.  All  had  at  once  offered  to  do  so. 

"  As  it  was  your  proposal,  Terence,"  the  major  said,  "  you 
shall  have  the  honour  of  firing  one  ;  Ryan,  you  take  another  ; 
Lieutenant  Marks  and  Mr.  Haines,  you  take  the  other  two, 
and  then  England  and  Ireland  will  be  equally  represented." 

The  deck  of  the  lugger  was  crowded  with  men,  and  the 


TWO    DANGERS  29 

course  she  was  steering  brought  her  within  a  length  of  the 
Sea-horse.  Some  of  the  men  were  preparing  to  lower  her 
boats,  when  suddenly  a  thick  line  of  red  coats  appeared  above 
the  bulwarks,  two  hundred  muskets  poured  in  their  fire,  while 
the  contents  of  the  four  guns  swept  her  deck.  The  effect  of 
the  fire  was  tremendous.  The  deck  was  in  a  moment  covered 
with  dead  and  dying  men  ;  half  a  minute  later  another  volley, 
fired  by  the  remaining  companies,  completed  the  work  of  de- 
struction. The  halliards  of  one  of  the  lugger's  sails  had  been 
cut  by  the  grape,  and  the  sail  now  came  down  with  a  run  to 
the  deck. 

"  Down  below,  all  of  you,"  the  major  shouted,  "  the  fellow 
behind  will  rake  us  in  a  minute. ' ' 

The  soldiers  ran  down  to  the  hold  again.  A  minute  later 
the  brig,  sailing  across  the  stern,  poured  in  the  fire  of  her  guns 
one  by  one.  Standing  much  lower  in  the  water  than  her  op- 
ponent, none  of  her  shot  traversed  the  deck  of  the  Sea-horse, 
but  they  carried  destruction  among  the  cabins  and  fittings  of 
the  deck  below.  As  this,  however,  was  entirely  deserted,  no 
one  was  injured  by  the  shot  or  flying  fragments.  The  brig 
then  took  up  her  position  three  or  four  hundred  yards  away, 
on  the  quarter  of  the  Sea-horse,  and  opened  a  steady  fire 
against  her. 

To  this  the  barque  could  make  no  reply,  the  fire  of  the 
muskets  being  wholly  ineffective  at  that  distance.  The  lugger 
lay  helpless  alongside  the  Sea-horse  ;  the  survivors  of  her  crew 
had  run  below,  and  dared  not  return  on  deck  to  work  their 
guns,  as  they  would  have  been  swept  by  the  musketry  of  the 
Sea-horse. 

Half  an  hour  later  Terence  was  ordered  to  go  below  to  see 
how  they  were  getting  on  in  the  hold. 

Terence  did  so.  Some  lanterns  had  been  lighted  there,  and 
he  found  that  four  men  had  been  killed  and  a  dozen  or  so 


30  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

wounded  by  the  enemy's  shot,  the  greater  portion  of  which, 
however,  had  gone  over  their  heads.  The  carpenter,  assisted 
by  some  of  the  non-commissioned  officers,  was  busy  plugging 
holes  that  had  been  made  in  her  between  wind  and  water,  and 
had  fairly  succeeded,  as  but  four  or  five  shots  had  struck  so  low, 
the  enemy's  object  being  not  to  sink,  but  to  capture  the  ves- 
sel. As  he  passed  up  through  the  main  deck  to  report,  Ter- 
ence saw  that  the  destruction  here  was  great  indeed.  The 
woodwork  of  the  cabins  had  been  knocked  into  fragments, 
there  was  a  great  gaping  hole  in  the  stern,  and  it  seemed  to 
him  that  before  long  the  vessel  would  be  knocked  to  pieces. 
He  returned  to  the  deck,  and  reported  the  state  of  things. 

"  It  looks  bad,"  the  major  said  to  O'Driscol.  "This  is  but 
half  an  hour's  work,  and  when  the  fellows  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  cannot  make  us  strike,  they  will  aim  lower, 
and  there  will  be  nothing  to  do  but  to  choose  between  sinking 
and  hauling  down  our  flag." 

After  delivering  his  report,  Terence  went  to  the  side  of  the 
ship  and  looked  down  on  the  lugger.  The  attraction  of  the 
ship  had  drawn  her  closer  to  it,  and  she  was  but  a  few  feet 
away.  A  thought  struck  him,  and  he  went  to  O'Grady. 

"  Look  here,  O'Grady,"  he  said,  "  that  fellow  will  smash  us 
up  altogether  if  we  don't  do  something." 

"  You  must  be  a  bright  boy  to  see  that,  Terence  ;  faith,  I 
have  been  thinking  so  for  the  last  ten  minutes.  But  what  are 
we  to  do?  The  muskets  won't  carry  so  far,  at  least  not  to  do 
any  good.  The  cannon  are  next  to  useless.  Two  of  that  lot  you 
fired  burst,  though  the  ropes  prevented  any  damage  being  done." 

"Quite  so,  but  there  are  plenty  of  guns  alongside.  Now, 
if  you  go  to  the  major  and  volunteer  to  take  your  company 
and  gain  possession  of  the  lugger,  with  one  of  the  mates  and 
half  a  dozen  sailors  to  work  her,  we  can  get  up  the  main-sail 
and  engage  the  brig." 


TWO   DANGERS  31 

"  By  the  powers,  Terence,  you  are  a  broth  of  a  boy,"  and 
he  hurried  away  to  the  major. 

"  Major,"  he  said,  "  if  you  will  give  me  leave,  I  will  have 
up  my  company  and  take  possession  of  the  lugger ;  we  shall 
want  one  of  the  ship's  officers  and  half  a  dozen  men  to  work 
the  sails,  and  then  we  will  go  out  and  give  that  brig  pepper. ' ' 

"  It  is  a  splendid  idea,  O'Grady." 

"  It  is  not  my  idea  at  all,  at  all ;  it  is  Terence  O'  Connor  who 
suggested  it  to  me.  I  suppose  I  can  take  the  lad  with  me?  " 

"  By  all  means,  get  your  company  up  at  once." 

O'Grady  hurried  away,  and  in  a  minute  the  men  of  his 
company  poured  up  onto  the  deck. 

"  You  can  come  with  me,  Terence ;  I  have  the  major's 
leave,"  he  said  to  the  lad. 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  slight  shock,  as  the  lugger  came 
in  contact  with  the  ship. 

"  Come  on,  lads,"  O'Grady  said,  as  he  set  the  example  of 
clambering  down  onto  the  deck  of  the  lugger.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  men,  the  first  mate  and  six  sailors  also  springing 
on  board.  The  hatches  were  first  put  on  to  keep  the  remnant 
of  the  crew  below.  The  sailors  knotted  the  halliards  of  the 
main-sail,  the  soldiers  tailed  on  to  the  rope,  and  the  sail  was 
rapidly  run  up.  The  mate  put  two  of  his  men  at  the  tiller, 
and  the  soldiers  ran  to  the  guns,  which  were  already  loaded. 

"Haul  that  sheet  to  windward,"  the  mate  shouted,  and 
the  four  sailors,  aided  by  some  of  the  soldiers,  did  so.  Her 
head  soon  payed  off,  and  amid  a  cheer  from  the  officers  on 
deck  the  lugger  swept  round.  She  mounted  twelve  guns. 
O'Grady  divided  the  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers 
among  them,  himself  taking  charge  of  a  long  pivot-gun  in 
the  bow. 

"  Take  stiddy  aim,  boys,  and  fire  as  your  guns  bear  on 
her;  you  ought  not  to  throw  away  a  shot  at  this  distance." 


32  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

As  the  lugger  came  out  from  behind  the  Sea-horse,  gun 
after  gun  was  fired,  and  the  white  splinters  on  the  side  of  the 
brig  showed  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  shots  had  taken  effect. 
O'Grady's  gun  was  the  last  to  speak  out,  and  the  shot  struck 
the  brig  just  above  the  water-line. 

"Take  her  round,"  he  shouted  to  the  mate;  "give  the 
boys  on  the  other  side  a  chance."  The  lugger  put  about  and 
her  starboard  guns  poured  in  their  contents. 

"  That  is  the  way,"  he  shouted,  as  he  laboured  away  with 
the  men  with  him  to  load  the  pivot-gun  again;  "we  will 
give  him  two  or  three  more  rounds,  and  then  we  will  get 
alongside  and  ask  for  his  health." 

The  brig,  however,  showed  no  inclination  to  await  the 
attack.  Some  shots  had  been  hastily  fired  when  the  lugger's 
first  gun  told  them  that  she  was  now  an  enemy,  and  she  at 
once  put  down  her  helm  and  made  off  before  the  wind,  which 
was  now  very  light. 

"Load  your  guns  and  then  out  with  the  oars,"  Captain 
O'Grady  shouted.  "Be  jabers,  we  will  have  that  fellow. 
Let  no  man  attend  to  the  Sea-horse ;  it's  from  me  that  you 
are  to  take  your  orders.  Besides,"  he  said  to  Terence, 
"there  is  no  signal-book  on  board,  and  they  may  hoist  as 
many  flags  as  they  like." 

The  twelve  sweeps  on  board  the  lugger  were  at  once  got 
out,  and  each  manned  by  three  soldiers.  O'Grady  himself 
continued  to  direct  the  fire  of  the  pivot-gun,  and  sent  shot 
after  shot  into  the  brig's  stern.  The  latter  had  but  some 
four  hundred  yards'  start,  and  although  she  also  hurriedly  got 
out  some  sweeps,  the  lugger  gained  upon  her.  Her  crew 
clustered  on  their  taffrail,  and  kept  up  a  musketry  fire  upon 
the  party  working  the  pivot-gun.  Two  of  these  had  been 
killed  and  four  wounded,  when  O'Grady  said  to  the  others  : 

"  Lave  the  gun  alone,  boys ;  we  shall  be  alongside  of  her  in 


TWO    DANGERS  33 

a  few  minutes ;  it  is  no  use  throwing  away  lives  by  working  it. 
Run  all  the  guns  over  to  the  other  side ;  we  will  give  them  a 
warming,  and  then  go  at  her." 

The  Sea-horse  had  hoisted  signals  directly  those  on  board 
perceived  that  the  lugger  was  starting  in  pursuit  of  the  brig. 
Terence  had  informed  his  commanding  officer  of  this,  but 
O'Grady  replied: 

"  I  know  nothing  about  them,  Terence;  most  likely  they 
mane  '  Good-luck  to  you  !  Chase  the  blackguard,  and  capt- 
ure him.'  Don't  let  Woods  come  near  me,  whatever  you 
do;  I  don't  want  to  hear  his  idea  of  what  the  signals  may 
mane. ' ' 

Terence  had  just  time  to  stop  the  mate  as  he  was  coming 
forward. 

"  The  ship  is  signalling,"  he  said. 

"I  have  told  Captain  O'Grady,  sir,"  Terence  replied. 
"  He  does  not  know  what  the  signal  means,  but  has  no  doubt 
that  it  is  instructions  to  capture  the  brig,  and  he  means  to 
do  so." 

The  officer  laughed. 

"  I  think  myself  that  it  would  be  a  pity  not  to,"  he  said  ; 
"  we  shall  be  alongside  in  ten  minutes.  But  I  think  it  my 
duty  to  tell  you  what  the  signal  is. ' ' 

"You  can  tell  me  what  it  is,"  Terence  said,  "  and  it  is 
possible  that  in  the  heat  of  action  I  may  forget  to  report  it  to 
Captain  O'Grady." 

"  That  is  right  enough,  sir.     I  think  it  is  the  recall." 

"  Well,  I  will  attend  to  it  presently,"  Terence  laughed. 

When  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  brig  the  troops  opened 
a  heavy  musketry  fire,  many  of  the  men  making  their  way  up 
the  ratlines  and  so  commanding  the  brig's  deck.  They  were 
answered  with  a  brisk  fire,  but  the  French  shooting  was  wild, 
and  by  the  shouting  of  orders  and  the  confusion  that  prevailed 
3 


34  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

on  board  it  was  evident  that  the  privateersmen  were  dis- 
organized by  the  sight  of  the  troops  and  the  capture  of  their 
consort.  The  brig's  guns  were  hastily  fired,  as  they  could  be 
brought  to  bear  on  the  lugger,  as  she  forged  alongside.  The 
sweeps  had  already  been  got  in,  and  the  lugger's  eight  guns 
poured  their  contents  simultaneously  into  the  brig,  then  a 
withering  volley  was  fired,  and,  headed  by  O'Grady,  the  sol- 
diers sprang  on  board  the  brig. 

As  they  did  so,  however,  the  French  flag  fluttered  down 
from  the  peak,  and  the  privateersmen  threw  down  their  arms. 
The  English  broadside  and  volley  fired  at  close  quarters  had 
taken  terrible  effect.  Of  the  crew  of  eighty  men  thirty  were 
killed  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  rest  wounded.  The  sol- 
diers gave  three  hearty  cheers  as  the  flag  came  down. 

The  privateersmen  were  at  once  ordered  below. 

"Lieutenant  Hunter,"  O'Grady  said,  "do  you  go  on 
board  the  lugger  with  the  left  wing  of  the  company.  Mr. 
Woods,  I  think  you  had  better  stay  here,  there  are  a  good 
many  more  sails  to  manage  than  there  are  in  the  lugger.  One 
man  here  will  be  enough  to  steer  her ;  we  will  pull  at  the 
ropes  for  you.  Put  the  others  on  board  the  lugger. ' ' 

"By  the  by,  Mr.  Woods,"  he  said,  "I  see  that  the  ship 
has  hoisted  a  signal ;  what  does  it  mean  ?  " 

"I  believe  that  to  be  the  recall,  sir;  I  told  Mr. 
O'Connor." 

"  You  ought  to  have  reported  that  same  to  me,"  O'Grady 
said,  severely  ;  "  however,  we  will  obey  it  at  once.*' 

The  Sea-horse  was  lying  head  to  wind  a  mile  and  a  half 
away,  and  the  two  prizes  ran  rapidly  up  to  her.  They  were 
received  with  a  tremendous  cheer  from  the  men  closely  packed 
along  her  bulwarks.  O'Grady  at  once  lowered  a  boat  and 
was  rowed  to  the  Sea-horse,  taking  Terence  with  him. 

"You   have  done    extremely   well,    Captain   O'Grady," 


TWO   DANGERS  35 

Major  Harrison  said,  as  he  reached  the  deck,  "  and  I  con- 
gratulate you  heartily.  You  should,  however,  have  obeyed  the 
order  of  recall ;  the  brig  might  have  proved  too  strong  for 
you,  and,  bound  on  service  as  we  are,  we  have  no  right  to 
risk  valuable  lives  except  in  self-defence. ' ' 

"Sure  I  knew  nothing  about  the  signal,"  O'Grady  said, 
with  an  air  of  innocence;  "  I  thought  it  just  meant  '  More 
power  to  ye !  give  it  'em  hot !  '  or  something  of  that  kind. 
It  was  not  until  after  I  had  taken  the  brig  that  I  was  told  that 
it  was  an  order  of  recall.  As  soon  as  I  learned  that,  we  came 
along  as  fast  as  we  could  to  you. ' ' 

"  But  Mr.  Woods  must  surely  have  known." 

"  Mr.  Woods  did  tell  me,  Major,"  Terence  put  in,  "but 
somehow  I  forgot  to  mention  it  to  Captain  O'Grady." 

There  was  a  laugh  among  the  officers  standing  round. 

"You  ought  to  have  informed  him  at  once,  Mr.  O'Connor," 
the  major  said,  with  an  attempt  at  gravity.  "  However,"  he 
went  on,  with  a  change  of  voice,  "  we  all  owe  so  much  to  you 
that  I  must  overlook  it,  as  there  can  be  very  little  doubt  that 
had  it  not  been  for  your  happy  idea  of  taking  possession  of 
the  lugger  we  should  have  been  obliged  to  surrender,  for  I 
should  not  have  been  justified  in  holding  out  until  the  ship 
sank  under  us.  I  shall  not  fail,  in  reporting  the  matter,  to 
do  you  full  credit  for  your  share  in  it.  Now,  what  is  your 
loss,  Captain  O'Grady?" 

"  Three  men  killed  and  eleven  wounded,  sir." 

"  And  what  is  that  of  the  enemy  ?  " 

"  Thirty-two  killed  and  about  the  same  number  of  wounded, 
more  or  less.  We  had  not  time  to  count  them  before  we  sent 
them  down,  and  I  had  not  time  afterwards,  for  I  was  occupied 
in  obeying  the  order  of  recall.  I  am  sorry  that  we  have  killed 
so  many  of  the  poor  beggars,  but  if  they  had  hauled  down 
their  flag  when  we  got  up  with  them  there  would  have  been 


36  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

no  occasion  for  it.  I  should  have  told  their  captain  that  I 
looked  upon  him  as  an  obstinate  pig,  but  as  he  and  his  first 
officer  were  both  killed,  there  was  no  use  in  my  spaking  to 
him." 

"Well,  it  has  been  a  very  satisfactory  operation,"  the 
major  said,  "and  we  are  very  well  out  of  a  very  nasty  fix. 
Now,  you  will  go  back  to  the  brig,  Captain  O'Grady,  and 
prepare  to  send  the  prisoners  on  board.  We  will  send  our 
boats  for  them.  Doctor  Daly  and  Doctor  O' Flaherty  will  go 
on  board  with  you  and  see  to  the  wounded  French  and  Eng- 
lish. Doctor  Daly  will  bring  the  worst  cases  on  board  here, 
and  will  leave  O' Flaherty  on  the  brig  to  look  after  the  others. 
They  will  be  better  there  than  in  this  crowded  ship.  The 
first  officer  will  remain  there  with  you  with  five  men,  and  you 
will  retain  fifty  men  of  your  own  company.  The  second 
officer,  with  five  men,  will  take  charge  of  the  lugger.  He 
will  have  with  him  fifty  men  of  Captain  O'Driscol's  company, 
under  that  officer.  That  will  give  us  a  little  more  room  on 
board  here.  How  many  prisoners  are  there  ?  ' ' 

"  Counting  the  wounded,  Major,  there  are  about  fifty  of 
them  ;  her  crew  was  eighty  strong  to  begin  with.  There  are 
only  some  thirty,  including  the  slightly  wounded,  to  look 
after." 

"  If  the  brig's  hold  is  clear,  I  think  that  you  had  better 
take  charge  of  them.  At  present  you  will  both  lie-to  beside 
us  here  till  we  have  completed  our  repairs,  and  when  we 
make  sail  you  are  both  to  follow  us,  and  keep  as  close  as  pos- 
sible ;  and  on  no  account,  Captain  O'Grady,  are  you  to 
undertake  any  cruises  on  your  own  account." 

"I  will  bear  it  in  mind,  Major  ;  and  we  will  do  all  we 
can  to  keep  up  with  you." 

A  laugh  ran  round  the  circle  of  officers  at  O'Grady's 
obstinacy  in  considering  the  Sea-horse  to  be  a  fast  vessel,  in 


TWO   DANGERS  37 

spite  of  the  evidence  that  they  had  had  to  the  contrary.  The 
major  said,  gravely : 

"  You  will  have  to  go  under  the  easiest  sail  possible.  The 
brig  can  go  two  feet  to  this  craft's  one,  and  you  will  only 
want  your  lower  sails.  If  you  put  on  more  you  will  be  run- 
ning ahead  and  losing  us  at  night.  We  shall  show  a  light 
over  our  stern,  and  on  no  account  are  you  to  allow  yourselves 
to  lose  sight  of  it." 

A  party  of  men  were  already  at  work  nailing  battens  over 
the  shattered  stern  of  the  Sea-horse.  When  this  was  done, 
sail-cloth  was  nailed  over  them,  and  a  coat  of  pitch  given  to  it. 
The  operation  took  four  hours,  by  which  time  all  the  other 
arrangements  had  been  completed.  The  holds  of  the  two 
privateers  were  found  to  be  empty,  and  they  learned  from  the 
French  crews  that  the  two  craft  had  sailed  from  Bordeaux  in 
company  but  four  days  previously,  and  that  the  Sea-horse  was 
the  first  English  ship  that  they  had  come  across. 

"You  will  remember,  Captain  O'Grady,"  the  major  said, 
as  that  officer  prepared  to  go  on  board,  "  that  Mr.  Woods  is 
in  command  of  the  vessel,  and  that  he  is  not  to  be  inter- 
fered with  in  any  way  with  regard  to  making  or  taking  in  sail. 
He  has  received  precise  instructions  as  to  keeping  near  us, 
and  your  duties  will  be  confined  to  keeping  guard  over  the 
prisoners,  and  rendering  such  assistance  to  the  sailors  as  they 
may  require." 

"I  understand,  Major;  but  I  suppose  that  in  case  you  are 
attacked  we  may  take  a  share  in  any  divarsion  that  is  going 
on?" 

"I  don't  think  that  there  is  much  chance  of  our  being 
attacked,  O'Grady;  but  if  we  are,  instructions  will  be  sig- 
nalled to  you.  French  privateers  are  not  likely  to  interfere 
with  us,  seeing  that  we  are  together,  and  if  by  any  ill-luck  a 
French  frigate  should  fall  in  with  us,  you  will  have  instructions 


38  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

to  sheer  off  at  once,  and  for  each  of  you  to  make  your  way 
to  Lisbon  as  quickly  as  you  can.  You  see,  we  have  trans- 
ferred four  guns  from  each  of  your  craft  to  take  the  place  of 
the  rotten  cannon  on  board  here,  but  our  united  forces  would 
be  of  no  avail  at  all  against  a  frigate,  which  would  send  us  to 
the  bottom  with  a  single  broadside.  We  can  neither  run  nor 
fight  in  this  wretched  old  tub.  If  we  do  see  a  French  frigate 
coming,  I  shall  transfer  the  rest  of  the  troops  to  the  prizes 
and  send  them  off  at  once,  and  leave  the  Sea-horse  to  her 
fate.  Of  course  we  should  be  very  crowded  on  board  the 
privateers,  but  that  would  not  matter  for  a  few  days.  So  you 
see  the  importance  of  keeping  quite  close  to  us,  in  readiness 
to  come  alongside  at  once  if  signalled  to.  We  shall  separate 
as  soon  as  we  leave  the  ship,  so  as  to  ensure  at  least  half  our 
force  reaching  its  destination." 

Captain  O'Driscol  took  Terence  with  him  on  board  the 
lugger,  leaving  his  lieutenant  in  charge  of  the  wing  that 
remained  on  board  the  ship. 

"You  have  done  credit  to  the  company,  and  to  my  choice 
of  you,  Terence,"  he  said,  warmly,  as  they  stood  together  on 
the  deck  of  the  lugger.  "  I  did  not  see  anything  for  it  but  a 
French  prison,  and  it  would  have  broken  my  heart  to  be  tied 
up  there  while  the  rest  of  our  lads  were  fighting  the  French 
in  Portugal.  I  thought  that  you  would  make  a  good  officer 
some  day  in  spite  of  your  love  of  devilment,  but  I  did  not 
think  that  before  you  had  been  three  weeks  in  the  service  you 
would  have  saved  half  the  regiment  from  a  French  prison. ' ' 


DISEMBARKED  39 

CHAPTER    III 

DISEMBARKED 

AS  soon  as  the  vessels  were  under  way  again  it  was  found 
that  the  lugger  was  obliged  to  lower  her  main-sail  to 
keep  in  her  position  astern  of  the  Sea-horse,  while  the  brig 
was  forced  to  take  in  sail  after  sail  until  the  whole  of  the 
upper  sails  had  been  furled. 

"It  is  tedious  work  going  along  like  this,"  O'Driscol  said  ; 
' '  but  it  does  not  so  much  matter,  because  as  yet  we  do  not 
know  where  we  are  going  to  land.  Sir  Arthur  has  gone  on  in 
a  fast  ship  to  Corunna  to  see  the  Spanish  Junta  there,  and 
find  out  what  assistance  we  are  likely  to  get  from  Northern 
Spain.  That  will  be  little  enough.  I  expect  they  will  take 
our  money  and  arms  and  give  us  plenty  of  fine  promises  in 
return,  and  do  nothing;  that  is  the  game  they  have  been 
playing  in  the  south,  and  if  there  were  a  grain  of  sense 
among  our  ministers  they  would  see  that  it  is  not  of  the 
slightest  use  to  reckon  on  Spain.  As  to  Portugal,  we  know 
very  little  at  present,  but  I  expect  there  is  not  a  pin  to  choose 
between  them  and  the  Spaniards." 

"Then  we  are  not  going  to  Lisbon?"  Terence  said,  in 
surprise. 

"  I  expect  not.  Sir  Arthur  won't  determine  anything 
until  he  joins  us  after  his  visit  to  Corunna,  but  I  don't  think 
that  it  will  be  at  Lisbon,  anyhow.  There  are  strong  forts 
guarding  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
troops  in  the  city,  and  a  Russian  fleet  anchored  in  the  port. 
I  don't  know  where  it  will  be,  but  I  don't  think  that  it  will 
be  Lisbon.  I  expect  that  we  shall  slip  into  some  little  port, 
land,  and  wait  for  Junot  to  attack  us ;  we  shall  be  joined,  I 


40  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

expect,  by  Stewart's  force,  that  have  been  fooling  about  for 
two  or  three  months  waiting  for  the  Spaniards  to  make  up 
their  minds  whether  they  will  admit  them  into  Cadiz  or  not. 
You  see,  at  present  there  are  only  9,000  of  us,  and  they  say  that 
Junot  has  at  least  50,000  in  Portugal ;  but  of  course  they  are 
scattered  about,  and  it  is  hardly  likely  that  he  would  venture 
to  withdraw  all  his  garrisons  from  the  large  towns,  so  that  the 
odds  may  not  be  as  heavy  as  they  look,  when  we  meet  him  in 
the  field.  And  I  suppose  that  at  any  rate  some  of  the  Portu- 
guese will  join  us.  From  what  I  hear,  the  peasantry  are 
brave  enough,  only  they  have  never  had  a  chance  yet  of 
making  a  fight  for  it,  owing  to  their  miserable  government, 
which  never  can  make  up  its  mind  to  do  anything.  I  hope 
that  Sir  Arthur  has  orders,  as  soon  as  he  takes  Lisbon,  to 
assume  the  entire  control  of  the  country  and  ignore  the  native 
government  altogether.  Even  if  they  are  worth  anything, 
which  they  are  sure  not  to  be,  it  is  better  to  have  one  head 
than  two,  and  as  we  shall  have  to  do  all  the  fighting,  it's  just 
as  well  that  we  should  have  the  whole  control  of  things  too." 

For  four  days  they  sailed  along  quietly.  On  the  morning 
of  the  fifth  the  signal  was  run  up  from  the  Sea-horse  for  the 
prizes  to  close  up  to  her.  Mr.  Woods,  the  mate  on  board  the 
brig,  at  once  sent  a  sailor  up  to  the  mast-head. 

"  There  is  a  large  ship  away  to  the  south-west,  sir,"  he 
shouted  down. 

"  What  does  she  look  like  ?" 

"  I  can  only  see  her  royals  and  top-sails  yet,  but  by  their 
square  cut  I  think  that  she  is  a  ship-of-war. ' ' 

"  Do  you  think  she  is  French  or  English?  " 

"  I  cannot  say  for  certain  yet,  sir,  but  it  looks  to  me  as  if 
she  is  French.  I  don't  think  that  the  sails  are  English  cut 
anyhow." 

Such  was  evidently  the  opinion  on  board  the  Sea-horse,  for 


DISEMBARKED  41 

as  the  prizes  came  up  within  a  hundred  yards  of  her  they  were 
hailed  by  the  major  through  a  speaking-trumpet,  and  ordered 
to  keep  at  a  distance  for  the  present,  but  to  be  in  readiness 
to  come  up  alongside  directly  orders  were  given  to  that 
effect. 

In  another  half-hour  the  look-out  reported  that  he  could 
now  see  the  lower  sails  of  the  stranger,  and  had  very  little 
doubt  but  that  it  was  a  large  French  frigate.  Scarcely  had  he 
done  so  before  the  two  prizes  were  ordered  to  close  up  to  the 
Sea-horse.  The  sea  was  very  calm  and  they  were  able  to  lie 
alongside,  and  as  soon  as  they  did  so  the  troops  began  to  be 
transferred  to  them.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  operation 
was  completed,  Major  Harrison  taking  his  place  on  board 
the  lugger ;  half  the  men  were  ordered  below,  and  the  prize 
sheered  off  from  the  Sea-horse. 

"The  Frenchman  is  bearing  down  straight  for  us,"  he  said 
to  O'  Driscol ;  ' '  she  is  bringing  a  breeze  down  with  her,  and  in 
an  hour  she  will  be  alongside.  I  shall  wait  another  half-hour, 
and  then  we  must  leave  the  Sea-horse  to  her  fate ;  except  for 
our  stores  she  is  worthless.  Well,  Terence,  have  you  any  sug- 
gestion to  offer?  You  got  us  out  of  the  last  scrape,  and 
though  this  is  not  quite  so  bad  as  that,  it  is  unpleasant  enough. 
The  frigate  when  she  comes  near  will  see  that  the  Sea-horse  is 
a  slow  sailer,  and  will  probably  leave  her  to  be  picked  up  at 
her  leisure,  and  will  go  off  in  chase  either  of  the  brig  or  us. 
The  brig  is  to  make  for  the  north-west  and  we  shall  steer 
south-east,  so  that  she  will  have  to  make  a  choice  between 
us.  When  we  get  the  breeze  we  shall  either  of  us  give  her  a 
good  dance  before  she  catches  us — that  is,  if  the  breeze  is  not 
too  strong  ;  if  it  is,  her  weight  would  soon  bring  her  up  to 
us." 

"  Yes,  Major,  but  perhaps  she  may  not  trouble  about  us  at 
all.  She  would  see  at  once  that  the  lugger  and  brig  are 


42  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

French,  and  if  they  were  both  to  hoist  French  colours,  and 
the  Sea-horse  were  to  fly  French  colours  over  English,  she 
would  naturally  suppose  that  she  had  been  captured  by  us, 
and  would  go  straight  on  her  course  without  troubling  herself 
further  about  it. ' ' 

"  So  she  might,  Terence.  At  any  rate  the  scheme  is  worth 
trying.  If  they  have  anything  like  good  glasses  on  board  they 
could  make  out  our  colours  miles  away.  If  she  held  on  tow- 
ards us  after  that,  there  would  be  plenty  of  time  for  us  to 
run,  but  if  we  saw  her  change  her  course  we  should  know  that 
we  were  safe.  Your  head  is  good  for  other  things  besides 
mischief,  lad." 

The  lugger  sailed  up  near  the  ship  again,  and  the  major  gave 
the  captain  instructions  to  hoist  a  French  ensign  over  an  Eng- 
lish one,  and  then,  sailing  near  the  brig,  told  them  to  hoist 
French  colours. 

"  Keep  all  your  men  down  below  the  line  of  the  bulwarks, 
O'Grady.  Mr.  Woods,  you  had  better  get  your  boat  down 
and  row  alongside  of  the  ship,  and  ask  the  captain  to  get  the 
slings  at  work  and  hoist  some  of  our  stores  into  her ;  we  will 
do  the  same  on  the  other  side.  Tell  the  captain  to  lower  a 
couple  of  his  boats ;  also  take  twenty  soldiers  on  board  with 
you  without  their  jackets ;  we  will  do  the  same,  so  that  it 
may  be  seen  that  we  have  a  strong  party  on  board  getting  out 
the  cargo." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  orders  were  carried  out,  and  forty 
soldiers  were  at  work  on  the  deck  of  the  Sea-horse,  slinging 
up  tents  from  below,  and  lowering  them  into  the  boats  along- 
side. The  approach  of  the  frigate  was  anxiously  watched  from 
the  decks  of  the  prizes.  The  upper  sails  of  the  Sea-horse  had 
been  furled,  and  the  privateers,  under  the  smallest  possible 
canvas,  kept  abreast  of  her  at  a  distance  of  a  couple  of  lengths. 
The  hull  of  the  French  frigate  was  now  visible. 


DISEMBARKED  43 

"  She  is  very  fast,"  the  mate  said  to  the  major,  "  and  she 
is  safe  to  catch  one  of  us  if  the  breeze  she  has  got  holds. ' ' 

As  she  came  nearer  the  feeling  of  anxiety  heightened. 

"  They  ought  to  make  out  our  colours  now,  sir." 

Almost  immediately  afterwards  the  frigate  was  seen  to 
change  her  course.  Her  head  was  turned  more  to  the  east. 
A  suppressed  cheer  broke  from  the  troops. 

"  It  is  all  right  now,  sir,"  the  mate  said  ;  "she  is  making 
for  Brest.  We  have  fooled  her  nicely." 

The  boats  passed  and  repassed  between  the  Sea-horse  and 
the  prizes,  and  the  frigate  crossed  a  little  more  than  a  mile 
ahead. 

"  Five-and-twenty  guns  a-side,"  the  major  said.  "By 
Jove  !  she  would  have  made  short  work  of  us." 

As  it  was  not  advisable  to  make  any  change  in  the  position 
until  the  frigate  was  far  on  her  way,  the  boats  continued  to 
pass  to  and  fro,  carrying  back  to  the  Sea-horse  the  stores  that 
had  just  been  removed,  until  the  Frenchman  was  five  or  six 
miles  away. 

"  Don't  you  think  that  we  might  make  sail  again,  Cap- 
tain ?  "  the  major  then  hailed. 

"  I  think  that  we  had  better  give  him  another  hour,  sir. 
Were  she  to  see  us  making  sail  with  the  prize  to  the  south  it 
would  excite  suspicion  at  once,  and  the  captain  might  take  it 
into  his  head  to  come  back  again  to  inquire  into  it." 

"Half  an  hour  will  surely  be  sufficient,"  the  major  said. 
"  She  is  travelling  at  eight  or  nine  knots  an  hour,  and  she  is 
evidently  bound  for  port.  It  would  be  unlikely  in  the  extreme 
that  her  commander  would  beat  back  ten  miles  on  what,  after 
all,  might  be  a  fool's  errand." 

"  That  is  true  enough,  sir.  Then  in  half  an  hour  we  shall 
be  ready  to  sail  again. ' ' 

The  major  was  rowed  to  the  Sea-horse.     "  We  may  as  well 


44  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

transfer  the  men  at  once,"  he  said.  "  We  have  had  a  very 
narrow  escape  of  it,  Captain,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  we 
owe  our  safety  entirely  to  the  sharpness  of  that  young  ensign. 
We  should  have  been  sunk  or  taken  if  he  had  not  suggested 
our  manning  the  lugger  in  the  first  place,  and  of  pretending 
that  the  ship  had  been  captured  by  French  privateers  in  the 
second." 

"  You  are  right,  Major.  Another  half-hour  and  the  craft 
would  have  foundered  under  us  ;  and  the  frigate  would  cer- 
tainly have  captured  the  Sea-horse  and  one  of  the  prizes  if  the 
Frenchman  had  not,  as  he  thought,  seen  two  privateers  at  work 
emptying  our  hold.  He  is  a  sharp  young  fellow,  that." 

"  That  he  is,"  the  major  agreed.  "  He  has  been  brought 
up  with  the  regiment,  and  has  always  been  up  to  pranks  of  all 
kinds  ;  but  he  has  used  his  wits  to  good  purpose  this  time,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  will  turn  out  an  excellent  officer." 

Before  sail  was  made  the  major  summoned  the  officers  on 
board  the  Sea-horse.  The  troops  from  the  lugger  and  brig 
were  drawn  up  on  deck,  and  the  major,  standing  on  the  poop, 
said  in  a  voice  that  could  be  heard  from  end  to  end  of  the  ship  : 

"  Officers  and  men,  we  have  had  a  narrow  escape  from  a 
French  prison,  and  as  it  is  possible  that  before  we  arrive  at 
our  destination  we  may  fall  in  with  an  enemy  again  and  not  be 
so  lucky,  I  think  it  right  to  take  this  occasion  at  once  of  thank- 
ing Mr.  O'Connor,  before  you  all,  in  my  own  name,  and  in 
yours,  for  to  his  intelligence  and  quickness  of  wit  it  is  entirely 
due  that  we  escaped  being  captured  when  the  brig  was  pound- 
ing us  with  its  shot,  without  our  being  able  to  make  any  return, 
and  it  was  certain  that  in  a  short  time  we  should  have  had  to 
haul  down  our  flag  or  be  sunk.  It  was  he  who  suggested  that 
we  should  take  possession  of  the  lugger,  and  with  her  guns 
drive  off  the  brig.  As  the  result  of  that  suggestion  this  craft 
was  saved  from  being  sunk,  and  the  brig  was  also  captured. 


DISEMBARKED  45 

"  In  the  second  place,  when  that  French  frigate  was  bear- 
ing down  upon  us  and  our  capture  seemed  certain,  it  was  he 
who  suggested  to  me,  that  by  hoisting  the  French  flag  and 
appearing  to  be  engaged  in  transferring  the  cargo  of  the  ship 
to  the  privateers,  we  might  throw  dust  into  the  eyes  of  the 
Frenchmen.  As  you  saw,  the  ruse  succeeded  perfectly.  I 
therefore,  Mr.  O'Connor,  thank  you  most  heartily  in  my  own 
name,  and  in  that  of  your  fellow-officers,  also  in  the  name  of 
the  four  hundred  men  of  the  regiment,  and  of  the  ship's  com- 
pany, for  the  manner  in  which  you  have,  by  your  quickness 
and  good  sense,  saved  us  all  from  a  French  prison,  and 
saved  his  Majesty  from  the  loss  of  the  wing  of  a  fine  regiment." 

As  he  concluded  the  men  broke  into  loud  cheering,  and 
the  officers  gathered  around  Terence  and  thanked  and  con- 
gratulated him  most  heartily  on  the  service  that  he  had  ren- 
dered them. 

"You  are  a  broth  of  a  boy,  Terence,"  Cap  tain  O'Grady 
said.  "  I  knew  that  it  was  in  you  all  along.  I  would  not 
give  a  brass  farthing  for  a  lad  who  had  not  a  spice  of  divil- 
ment  in  him.  It  shows  that  he  has  got  his  wits  about  him, 
and  that  when  he  steddys  down  he  will  be  hard  to  bate. ' ' 

Terence  was  so  much  overpowered  at  the  praise  he  had  re- 
ceived that,  beyond  protesting  that  it  was  quite  undeserved, 
he  had  no  reply  to  make  to  the  congratulations  that  he  re- 
ceived from  the  captain.  O'Driscol,  seeing  that  he  was  on 
the  verge  of  breaking  down,  at  once  called  upon  him  to  take 
his  place  in  the  boat,  and  rowed  with  him  to  the  lugger. 

A  few  minutes  later  all  sail  was  set  on  the  Sea-horse,  and 
with  her  yards  braced  tautly  aft  she  laid  her  course  south, 
close  -  hauled ;  a  fresh  breeze  was  now  blowing,  and  she 
ploughed  her  way  through  the  water  at  a  rate  that  almost 
justified  O'Grady's  panegyrics  upon  her.  In  another  three 
days  she  entered  the  port  of  Vigo,  where  the  convoy  was  to 


46  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

rendezvous,  and  all  were  glad  to  find  that  the  whole  fleet  were 
still  there.  On  anchoring,  the  major  went  on  board  the 
Dauphin,  which  had  brought  the  head -quarters,  and  the  other 
wing  of  the  regiment.  He  was  heartily  greeted  by  the  colonel. 

"  We  were  getting  very  uneasy  about  you,  Harrison,"  he 
said.  "  The  last  ship  of  the  convoy  came  in  three  days  ago, 
and  we  began  to  fear  that  you  must  have  been  either  dis- 
masted or  sunk  in  the  gale.  I  saw  the  senior  naval  officer  this 
morning,  and  he  said  that  if  you  did  not  come  in  during  the 
day  he  would  send  a  frigate  out  in  search  of  you  ;  but  I  could 
see  by  his  manner  that  he  thought  it  most  likely  that  you  had 
gone  down.  So  you  may  imagine  how  pleased  we  were  when 
we  made  out  your  number,  though  we  could  not  for  the  life 
of  us  make  out  what  those  two  craft  flying  the  English  colours 
over  the  French,  that  came  in  after  you,  were.  But  of  course 
they  had  nothing  to  do  with  you.  I  suppose  they  were  two 
privateers  that  had  been  captured  by  one  of  our  frigates,  and 
sent  in  here  with  prize  crews  to  refit  before  going  home. 
They  have  both  of  them  been  knocked  about  a  bit. ' ' 

"  I  will  tell  you  about  them  directly,  Colonel ;  it  is  rather  a 
long  story.  We  have  had  a  narrow  squeak  of  it.  We  got 
through  the  storm  pretty  well,  but  we  had  a  bad  time  of  it 
afterwards,  and  we  owe  it  entirely  to  young  O'Connor  that 
we  are  not,  all  of  us,  in  a  prison  at  Brest  at  present. ' ' 

"  You  don't  say  so  !  Wait  a  moment,  I  will  call  his  father 
here ;  he  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  the  young  scamp  has  be- 
haved well.  I  may  as  well  call  them  all  up ;  they  will  like  to 
hear  the  story." 

Turning  to  the  group  of  officers  who  were  standing  on  the 
quarter-deck  a  short  distance  away,  waiting  to  hear  the  news 
when  the  major  had  given  his  report,  he  said  :  "  You  may  as 
well  come  now  and  hear  Major  Harrison's  story ;  it  will  save 
his  telling  it  twice.  You  will  be  glad  to  hear,  O'Connor,  that 


DISEMBARKED  47 

Terence  has  been  distinguishing  himself  in  some  way,  though 
I  know  not  yet  in  what;  the  major  says  that  if  it  had  not  been 
for  him  the  whole  wing  of  the  regiment  would  have  now  been 
in  a  French  prison." 

"  Terence  was  always  good  at  getting  out  of  scrapes,  Colo- 
nel, though  I  don't  say  he  was  not  equally  good  in  getting 
into  them  ;  but  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  this  time  he  has  done 
something  useful." 

The  major  then  gave  a  full  account  of  their  adventure  with 
the  privateers,  and  of  the  subsequent  escape  from  the  French 
frigate. 

"  Faith,  O'Connor,"  the  colonel  said,  warmly,  holding  out 
his  hand  to  him,  "  I  congratulate  you  most  heartily,  which  is 
more  than  I  ever  thought  to  do  on  Terence's  account.  I  had 
some  misgivings  when  I  recommended  him  for  a  commission, 
but  I  may  congratulate  myself  as  well  as  you  that  I  did  so. 
I  was  sure  the  lad  had  plenty  in  him,  but  I  was  afraid  that  it 
was  more  likely  to  come  out  the  wrong  way  than  the  right ; 
and  now  it  turns  out  that  he  has  saved  half  the  regiment,  for 
there  is  no  doubt  from  what  Harrison  says  that  he  has  done 
so." 

"  Thank  you,  Colonel ;  I  am  glad  indeed  that  the  boy  has 
done  credit  to  your  kindness.  It  was  a  mighty  bad  scrape 
this  time,  and  he  got  out  of  it  well." 

"  Of  course,  Major,  you  will  give  a  full  report  in  writing  of 
this,  and  will  send  it  in  to  Sir  Arthur ;  he  arrived  this  morn- 
ing. I  will  go  on  board  the  flag-ship  at  once  and  report  as  to 
the  prizes.  Who  they  belong  to  I  have  not  the  least  idea.  I 
never  heard  of  a  transport  capturing  a  couple  of  privateers  be- 
fore ;  but,  I  suppose,  as  she  is  taken  up  for  the  king's  service 
and  the  prizes  were  captured  by  his  Majesty's  troops,  they 
will  rank  as  if  taken  by  the  navy,  that  is,  a  certain  amount  of 
their  value  will  go  to  the  admiral.  Anyhow,  the  bulk  of  it 


48  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

will  go,  I  should  think,  to  the  troops — the  crew  and  officers  of 
the  ship,  of  course,  sharing." 

"  It  won't  come  to  much  a  head,  Colonel,  anyhow.  You 
see,  they  were  both  empty,  and  there  is  simply  the  value  of 
the  ships  themselves,  which  I  don't  suppose  would  fetch  above 
five  or  six  hundred  apiece." 

"  Still,  the  thing  must  be  done  in  a  regular  way,  and  I 
must  leave  it  in  the  admiral's  hands.  I  will  take  your  boat, 
Major,  and  go  to  him  at  once.  You  will  find  pen  and  ink  in 
my  cabin,  and  I  should  be  glad  if  you  would  write  your  re- 
port by  the  time  that  I  return  ;  then  I  will  go  off  at  once  to 
Sir  Arthur." 

"  I  have  it  already  written,  Colonel,"  the  major  said,  pro- 
ducing the  document. 

"  That  looks  to  me  rather  long,  Harrison,  and  busy  as  Sir 
Arthur  must  be,  he  might  not  take  the  trouble  to  read  it.  I 
wish  you  would  write  out  another,  as  concise  as  you  can  make 
it,  of  the  actual  affair,  saying  at  the  end  that  you  beg  to  re- 
port especially  the  conduct  of  Ensign  O'Connor,  to  whose 
suggestions  the  escape  of  the  ship  both  from  the  privateers 
and  French  frigate  were  due.  I  will  hand  that  in  as  the 
official  report,  and  with  it  the  other,  saying  that  it  gives  further 
details  of  the  affair.  Of  course,  with  them  I  must  give  in  an 
official  letter  from  myself,  inclosing  your  two  reports.  But 
first  I  will  go  and  see  the  admiral." 

In  a  little  over  half  an  hour  he  returned.  "The  admiral 
knows  no  more  than  I  do  whether  the  navy  have  anything  to 
do  with  the  prizes  or  not.  Being  so  small  in  value  he  does 
not  want  to  trouble  himself  about  it.  He  says  that  the  matter 
would  entail  no  end  of  correspondence  and  bother,  and  that 
the  crafts  might  rot  at  their  anchors  before  the  matter  was 
decided.  He  thinks  the  best  thing  that  I  can  do  will  be  to 
sell  the  two  vessels  for  what  they  will  fetch,  and  divide  the 


DISEMBARKED  49 

money  according  to  prize  rules,  and  say  nothing  about  it.  In 
that  way  there  is  not  likely  ever  to  be  any  question  about  it, 
while  if  the  Admiralty  and  Horse  Guards  once  get  into  a  cor- 
respondence over  the  matter,  there  is  no  saying  what  bother  I 
might  have ;  and  that  he  should  advise  me,  if  I  do  not  adopt 
that  plan,  to  simply  scuttle  them  both,  and  report  that  they 
have  sunk.  Now  I  will  just  write  my  official  letter  and  take 
it  to  head-quarters." 

In  two  hours  he  was  back  again. 

"  I  have  not  seen  the  chief,"  he  said,  "  but  I  gave  the  re- 
ports to  his  adjutant-general.  General  Fane  was  with  him  ;  he 
is  an  old  friend  of  mine,  and  I  told  him  the  story  of  your 
voyage,  and  the  adjutant -general  joined  in  the  conversation. 
Fane  was  waiting  to  go  in  to  Sir  Arthur,  who  was  dictating 
some  despatches  to  England,  and  he  said  that  if  he  had  a 
chance  he  would  mention  the  affair  to  Sir  Arthur  \  and,  at 
any  rate,  the  other  officer  said  that  he  would  lay  the  reports 
before  him,  with  such  mention  that  Sir  Arthur  would  doubt- 
less look  through  them  both.  I  find  that  there  is  a  bit  of  in- 
surrection going  on  in  Portugal,  but  that  no  one  thinks  much 
will  come  of  it,  as  bands  of  unarmed  peasants  can  have  no 
chance  with  the  French.  Nothing  is  determined  as  yet  about 
our  landing.  Lisbon  and  the  Tagus  are  completely  in  the 
hands  of  the  French. 

"  Sir  Arthur  is  going  down  to  Oporto  to-morrow,  where  it 
is  likely  that  he  will  learn  more  about  the  situation  than  he 
did  at  Corunna.  Fane  says  that  he  hopes  we  shall  soon  be 
ashore,  as  the  general  is  not  the  man  to  let  the  grass  grow 
under  his  feet.". 

After  holding  counsel  with  his  officers  the  colonel  deter- 
mined to  adopt  the  advice  he  had  received,  and  to  sell  the 
two  craft  for  what  they  would  fetch,  the  officers  all  agreeing 
to  refund  their  shares  if  any  questions  were  ever  asked  on  the 
4 


50  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

subject.  The  captain  of  the  Sea-horse  agreed  to  accept  the 
share  of  a  captain  in  the  line,  and  his  mates  those  of  first  and 
second  lieutenant.  The  colonel  put  himself  in  communication 
with  some  merchants  on  shore,  and  the  two  craft  were  sold  for 
twelve  hundred  pounds. 

"  This  gave  something  over  a  pound  a  head  to  the  400 
soldiers  and  the  crew,  twice  that  amount  to  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers,  and  sums  varying  from  ten  pounds  apiece  to 
the  ensigns  to  fifty  pounds  to  the  major.  The  admiral  was 
-asked  to  approve  of  the  transaction,  and  said,  '  I  have  no 
right  formally  to  sanction  it,  since,  so  far  as  I  know,  it  is  not 
a  strictly  naval  matter ;  but  I  will  give  you  a  letter,  Colonel, 
saying  that  you  have  informed  me  of  the  course  that  you  have 
adopted,  and  that  I  consider  that  under  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  capture,  and  the  fact  that  there  are  no  men 
available  for  sending  the  prizes  to  England,  the  course  was 
the  best  and  most  convenient  that  could  possibly  be  adopted, 
though,  had  the  craft  been  of  any  great  value,  it  would,  of 
course,  have  been  necessary  to  refer  the  matter  home. '  ' ' 

A  week  passed  without  movement.  The  expedition  had 
left  England  on  the  i2th  of  July,  1808,  and  Sir  Arthur  re- 
joined it  towards  the  end  of  the  month.  He  had  learned  at 
Oporto  from  Colonel  Brown,  our  agent  there,  that,  contrary 
to  what  he  had  been  told  at  Corunna,  there  were  no  Spanish 
troops  in  the  north  of  Portugal,  but  that  a  body  of  some  8,000 
Portuguese  irregulars  and  militia,  half- armed  and  but  slightly 
disciplined,  were  assembled  on  the  river  Mondego.  After  a 
consultation  with  Admiral  Sir  Charles  Cotton,  Sir  Arthur  had 
concluded  that  an  attack  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus  was  im- 
practicable, owing  to  the  strength  of  the  French  there,  the 
position  of  the  forts  that  commanded  the  entrance  of  the 
river,  and  the  heavy  surf  that  broke  in  all  the  undefended 
creeks  and  bays  near.  There  was  then  the  choice  of  landing 


DISEMBARKED  51 

far  enough  north  of  Lisbon  to  ensure  a  disembarkation  undis- 
puted by  the  French,  or  else  to  sail  south,  join  Spencer,  and 
act  against  the  French  army  under  Dupont. 

Sir  Arthur  finally  determined  that  the  Mondego  River  was 
the  most  practicable  for  the  enterprise.  The  fort  of  Figue*ira 
at  its  mouth  was  already  occupied  by  British  marines,  and  the 
Portuguese  force  was  at  least  sufficient  to  deter  any  small  body 
of  troops  approaching  the  neighbourhood.  Therefore,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  troops,  the  order  was  given  that  the  fleet 
should  sail  on  the  following  morning ;  two  days  later  they 
anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  Mondego.  Just  before  start- 
ing a  vessel  arrived  with  despatches  from  Spencer,  saying  that 
he  was  at  St.  Mary's  and  was  free  to  act  with  Sir  Arthur,  and 
a  fast  vessel  was  despatched  with  orders  to  him  to  sail  to  the 
Mondego. 

On  arriving  there  Sir  Arthur  received  the  mortifying  intel- 
ligence that  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  had  been  appointed  over  his 
head,  nevertheless  he  continued  to  push  on  his  own  plans  with 
vigour,  pending  the  arrival  of  that  general.  With  this  bad 
news  came  the  information  that  the  French  general,  Dupont, 
had  been  defeated.  This  set  free  a  small  force  under  General 
Anstruther,  and  some  fast-sailing  craft  were  at  once  despatched 
to  find  his  command,  and  order  it  to  sail  at  once  to  the  Mon- 
dego. Without  further  delay,  however,  the  landing  of  the 
troops  began  on  the  ist  of  August,  and  the  9,000  men,  their 
guns  and  stores,  were  ashore  by  the  5th. 

On  that  day  Spencer  fortunately  arrived  with  3,300  men. 
He  had  not  received  Sir  Arthur's  orders,  but  the  moment 
that  Dupont  surrendered  he  had  sailed  for  the  Tagus,  and  had 
learned  from  Sir  C.  Cotton,  who  commanded  the  fleet  at  the 
entrance  to  the  river,  where  Sir  Arthur  was,  and  at  once 
sailed  to  join  him.  While  the  troops  were  disembarking  Sir 
Arthur  had  gone  over  to  the  Portuguese  head-quarters,  two 


52  WITH    MOORE  AT   C6RUNNA 

miles  distant,  to  confer  with  Bernardin  Friere,  the  Portuguese 
commander-in-chief.  The  visit  was  a  disappointing  one.  He 
found  that  the  Portuguese  troops  were  almost  unarmed,  and 
that  their  commander  was  full  of  inflated  ideas.  He  proposed 
that  the  forces  should  unite,  that  they  should  relinquish  the 
coast,  and  march  into  the  interior  and  commence  an  offensive 
campaign,  and  was  lavish  in  his  promises  to  provide  ample 
stores  of  provisions.  The  English  general  saw,  however,  that 
no  effectual  assistance  could  be  hoped  for  from  the  Portuguese 
•troops,  and  as  little  from  the  promises  of  their  commander. 
He  gave  Friere  5,000  muskets  for  his  troops,  but  absolutely 
declined  to  adopt  the  proposed  plan,  his  own  intention  being 
to  keep  near  the  coast,  where  he  could  receive  his  supplies 
from  the  ships  and  be  joined  by  reinforcements. 

As  soon  as  they  had  landed  the  Mayo  regiment  was  marched 
to  a  village  two  miles  inland,  and,  with  two  others  of  the  same 
brigade,  encamped  near  it.  All  idea  of  keeping  up  a  regi- 
mental officers'  mess  had  been  abandoned,  and  as  soon  as  the 
tents  were  pitched  and  the  troops  had  settled  down  in  them, 
O'Grady  said  to  Terence  : 

"  We  will  go  into  the  village  and  see  if  we  can  find  a  suit- 
able place  for  taking  our  meals.  It  may  be  that  in  time  our 
fellows  will  learn  how  to  cook  for  us,  but,  by  jabers  !  we  will 
live  dacent  as  long  as  we  can.  My  servant,  Tim  Hoolan,  has 
gone  on  ahead  to  look  for  such  a  place,  and  he  is  the  boy  to 
find  one  if  there  is  one  anyhow  to  be  got.  As  our  companies 
are  number  i  and  2,  it  is  reasonable  that  we  should  stick  to- 
gether, and  though  O'Driscol's  a  quare  stick,  with  all  sorts  of 
ridiculous  notions,  he  is  a  good  fellow  at  heart,  and  I  will  put 
up  with  him  for  the  sake  of  having  you  with  me." 

As  they  entered  the  village  the  servant  came  up.  "  I  have 
managed  it,  Captain ;  we  have  got  hold  of  the  best  quarters 
in  the  village  ;  it  is  a  room  over  the  only  shebeen  here.  The 


DISEMBARKED  53 

ould  scoundrel  of  a  landlord  wanted  to  keep  it  as  a  general 
room,  but  I  brought  the  Church  to  bear  on  him,  and  I  man- 
aged it  finally." 

"  How  did  you  work  it,  Tim  ?  " 

"Sure,  your  honour,  I  went  to  the  praste,  and  by  good 
luck  his  house  is  in  front  of  the  church.  I  went  into  the 
church,  and  I  crossed  myself  before  the  altar  and  said  a  prayer 
or  two.  As  I  did  so  who  should  come  out  of  the  vestry  but 
the  father  himself.  He  waited  until  I  had  done  and  then 
came  up  to  me,  and  to  my  surprise  said  in  good  Irish : 

"  '  So  it's  a  Catholic  you  are,  my  man  ? ' 

"  '  That  am  I,  your  riverence,'  said  I,  '  and  most  all  of  the 
rigiment  are ;  sure,  we  were  raised  in  the  ould  country,  and 
belong,  most  of  us,  to  County  Mayo,  and  glad  we  were  to 
come  out  here  to  fight  for  those  of  the  true  religion  against 
these  Frenchmen,  who  they  say  have  no  religion  at  all,  at  all. 
And  how  is  it  you  spake  the  language,  your  riverence,  if  I 
may  be  so  bold  as  to  ask  ?  '  ' 

"  Then  he  told  me  that  he  had  been  at  college  at  Lisbon, 
where  the  sons  of  many  Catholic  Irish  gentlemen  were  sent  to 
be  educated,  and  that  he  had  learned  it  from  them. 

"  '  And  how  is  it  that  you  are  not  with  your  regiment,  my 
man?' 

"  '  I  am  here  to  hire  rooms  for  the  officers,  your  riverence, 
just  a  place  where  they  can  ate  a  dacent  meal  in  peace  and 
quietness.  I  have  been  to  the  inn,  but  I  cannot  for  the  life  of 
me  make  the  landlord  understand.  He  has  got  a  room  that 
would  be  just  suitable,  so  I  thought  I  would  come  to  your 
riverence  to  explain  to  you  that  the  rigiment  are  not  heretics, 
but  true  sons  of  the  Church.  I  thought  that,  being  a  learned 
man,  I  might  make  shift  to  make  you  understand,  and  that 
you  would  maybe  go  wid  me  and  explain  the  matter  to  him.' 

"  '  That  will  I,'  says  he;  and  he  wint  and  jabbered  away 


54  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

with  the  innkeeper,  and  at  last  turned  to  me  and  said  :  '  He 
will  let  you  have  a  room,  seeing  that  it  is  for  the  service  of 
good  Catholics  and  not  heretics.'  " 

"  But,  you  rascal,  you  know  that  we  are  not  Catholics." 

"Sure,  your  honour,  didn't  I  say  that  most  all  the  rigi- 
ment  were  Catholics;  I  did  not  say  all  of  them." 

"  I  must  go  and  explain  the  matter  to  him,  Hoolan.  If  he 
calls  upon  us,  as  like  he  may  do,  he  would  find  out  at  once 
that  you  have  desaved  him." 

"Sure,  your  honour,  if  you  think  that  it  is  necessary,  of 
course  it  must  be  dorfe ;  but  would  it  not  be  as  well  to  go  to 
the  shebeen  first  and  to  take  possession  of  the  room,  and  to 
get  comfortably  settled  down  in  it  before  ye  gives  me  away?" 

"I  think  it  might  be  worth  while,  Tim,"  O'Gradysaid, 
gravely.  "What  do  you  say,  Terence?" 

"  I  think  the  matter  will  keep  for  a  few  hours,"  Terence 
said,  laughing,  "and  when  we  are  once  settled  there  it  will 
be  very  hard  to  turn  us  out." 

The  room  was  found  to  be  larger  than  they  had  expected, 
and  O'Grady  proposed  that  they  should  admit  the  whole  of- 
ficers of  their  wing  to  share  it  with  them,  to  which  Terence 
at  once  agreed  heartily.  "  I  think  that  with  a  little  squeezing 
the  place  would  hold  the  officers  of  the  five  companies,  and 
the  major  and  O' Flaherty.  The  more  of  us  there  are,  the 
merrier,  and  the  less  fear  of  our  being  turned  out." 

"  That  is  so.  We  had  better  put  the  names  up  on  the 
door.  You  go  down  and  try  and  make  that  black-browed 
landlord  understand  that  you  want  some  paper  and  pen  and 
ink." 

With  some  difficulty  and  much  gesticulation  Terence  suc- 
ceeded. The  names  of  the  officers  were  written  down  on  a 
paper  and  it  was  then  fastened  on  the  door. 

"  Now,  Terence,  I  will  go  and  fetch  the  boys ;  you  and 


DISEMBARKED  55 

Hoolan  make  the  landlord  understand  that  we  want  food  and 
wine  for  fifteen  or  sixteen  officers.  Of  course  they  won't  all 
be  able  to  get  away  at  once.  We  must  contint  ourselves  with 
anything  we  can  get  now ;  afterwards  we  will  send  up  our 
rations,  and  with  plenty  of  good  wine  and  a  ham  (there  are 
lots  of  them  hanging  from  the  ceiling  down  below),  we  shall 
do  pretty  well,  with  what  you  can  forage  outside." 

Terence  left  this  part  of  the  work  to  Hoolan,  who,  by 
bringing  up  a  number  of  plates  and  ranging  them  on  the  table, 
getting  down  a  ham  and  cutting  it  into  slices,  and  by  point- 
ing to  the  wine-skins,  managed  to  acquaint  the  landlord  with 
what  was  required.  In  this  he  was  a  good  deal  aided  by  the 
man's  two  nieces,  who  acted  as  his  assistants,  and  who  were 
much  quicker  in  catching  his  meaning  than  was  the  land- 
lord himself.  Very  soon  the  room  below  was  crowded  with 
officers  from  other  regiments,  and  Hoolan  went  up  to  Ter- 
ence : 

"I  think,  Mr.  O'Connor,  that  it  would  be  a  good  job  if 
you  were  to  go  down  and  buy  a  dozen  of  them  hams.  A  lot 
of  them  have  been  sold  already,  and  it  won't  be  long  before 
the  last  has  gone,  though  I  reckon  that  there  are  three  or  four 
dozen  of  them  still  there. ' ' 

"  That  is  a  very  good  idea,  Tim.  You  come  down  with 
me  and  bring  them  straight  up  here,  and  we  will  drive  some 
nails  into  those  rafters.  I  expect  before  nightfall  the  place 
will  be  cleared  out  of  everything  that  is  eatable." 

The  bargain  was  speedily  concluded.  The  landlord  was 
now  in  a  better  temper.  At  first  he  had  been  very  doubtful 
of  the  intentions  of  the  new-comers.  Now  that  he  saw  that 
they  were  ready  to  pay  for  everything,  and  that  at  prices 
much  higher  than  he  could  before  have  obtained,  his  face 
shone  with  good-humour.  He  and  the  two  girls  were  already 
busy  drawing  wine  and  selling  it  to  the  customers. 


56  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"  I  will  get  some  wood,  your  honour,  and  light  a  fire  here, 
or  it  is  mighty  little  dinner  that  you  will  be  getting.  The  sol- 
diers will  soon  be  dropping  in,  that  is, 'if  they  don't  keep  this 
place  for  officers  only,  for  there  are  two  other  places  where  they 
sell  wine  in  the  village.  When  I  came  up  two  officers  had  a 
slice  of  ham  each  on  the  points  of  their  swords  over  the  fire." 

"  That  will  be  a  very  good  plan,  Tim ;  you  had  better  set 
to  work  about  it  at  once,  and  at  the  same  time  I  will  try  and 
get  some  bread." 

By  the  time  that  O'Grady  returned  with  seven  or  eight 
other  officers  the  fire  was  blazing.  Terence  had  managed  to 
get  a  sufficient  number  of  knives  and  forks ;  there  was,  how- 
ever, no  table-cloth  in  the  house.  He  and  Terence  were 
cooking  slices  of  ham  on  a  gridiron  over  the  fire. 

"  This  is  first-rate,  O'Grady,"  Major  Harrison  said;  "  the 
place  is  crowded  down  below,  and  we  should  have  fared  very 
badly  if  you  had  not  managed  to  get  hold  of  this  room." 

"  If  some  of  the  boys  will  see  to  the  cooking,  Major,  I  will 
go  down  with  Hoolan  and  get  a  barrel  of  wine  and  bring  it 
up  here ;  then  we  shall  do  first-rate. ' ' 

"  How  about  the  rations,  Major?  "  Terence  asked. 

"They  have  just  been  served  out.  I  sent  my  man  down 
to  draw  the  rations  for  the  whole  wing  at  once,  and  told  him 
to  bring  them  up  here." 

"And  I  have  told  mine,"  Captain  O'Driscol  said,  "  to  go 
round  the  village  and  buy  up  two  or  three  dozen  chickens,  if 
he  can  find  them,  and  as  many  eggs  as  he  can  collect.  I  think 
that  we  had  better  tell  off  two  of  the  men  as  cooks.  I  don't 
think  it  is  likely  that  they  will  be  able  to  get  much  done  that 
way  below.  Hoolan  and  another  will  do." 

"  I  should  think  it  best  to  keep  Hoolan  as  forager ;  he  is 
rather  a  genius  in  that  capacity.  I  think  he  has  got  round 
those  two  girls,  whether  by  his  red  hair  or  his  insinuating 


UNDER    CANVAS  57 

manners  I  cannot  say,  but  they  seem  ready  to  do  anything  for 
him,  and  we  shall  want  lots  of  things  in  the  way  of  pots  and 
pans  and  so  on." 

"  Very  well,  Terence,  then  we  will  leave  him  free  and  put 
two  others  on." 


CHAPTER   IV 

UNDER     CANVAS 

IN  a  short  time  O'Grady  returned,  followed  by  Hoolan,  car- 
rying a  small  barrel  of  wine. 

"  It  is  good,  I  hope,"  the  major  said,  as  the  barrel  was  set 
down  in  one  corner  of  the  room. 

"I  think  that  it  is  the  best  they  have;  one  of  the  girls 
went  down  with  Tim  into  the  cellar  and  pointed  it  out  to 
him.  I  told  him  to  ask  her  for  bueno  vino.  I  don't  know 
whether  it  was  right  or  not,  but  I  think  she  understood." 

"  How  much  does  it  hold,  O'Grady?  " 

"  I  cannot  say  ;  five  or  six  gallons,  I  should  think ;  any- 
how, I  paid  three  dollars  for  it." 

"You  must  put  down  all  the  outgoings,  O'Grady,  and  we 
will  square  up  when  we  leave  here." 

"I  will  put  them  down,  Major.  How  long  do  you  think 
we  shall  stop  here  ?  ' ' 

1 '  That  is  more  than  anyone  can  say  ;  we  have  to  wait  for 
Anstruther  and  Spencer.  It  may  be  three  or  four  days ;  it 
may  be  a  fortnight. ' ' 

Dick  Ryan  assisted  Terence  in  the  cooking,  while  Tim  went 
down  to  get  something  to  drink  out  of.  He  returned  with 
three  mugs  and  two  horns. 

"  Divil  a  thing  else  is  there  that  can  be  found,  yer  honour," 


58  WITH   MOORE  AT   CORUNNA 

he  said,  as  he  placed  them  on  the  table ;  "  every  mortial  thing 
is  in  use. ' ' 

"That  will  do  to  begin  with,"  the  major  said  ;  "we  will 
get  our  own  things  up  this  afternoon.  We  must  manage  as  best 
we  can  for  this  meal ;  it  is  better  than  I  expected  by  a  long 
way." 

Tim  now  relieved  the  two  young  officers  at  the  gridiron, 
and  sitting  down  at  the  benches  along  the  table  the  meal  was 
eaten  with  much  laughter  and  fun. 

"  After  all,  there  is  nothing  like  getting  things  straight  from 
the  gridiron,"  the  major  said. 

O'Grady  had  got  the  bung  out  of  the  barrel  and  filled  the 
five  drinking  vessels,  and  the  wine  was  pronounced  to  be 
very  fair.  One  by  one  the  other  officers  dropped  in,  and 
Hoolan  was  for  an  hour  kept  busy.  The  major,  who  spoke  a 
little  Spanish,  went  down  and  returned  with  a  dozen  bottles 
of  spirits,  two  or  three  of  which  were  opened  and  the  contents 
consumed. 

"  It  is  poor  stuff  by  the  side  of  whisky,"  O'Grady  said,  as 
he  swallowed  a  stiff  glass  of  it ;  "  still,  I  will  not  be  denying 
that  it  is  warming  and  comforting,  and  if  we  can  get  enough 
of  it  we  can  hold  on  till  we  get  home  again.  Here  is  success 
to  the  campaign.  I  will  trouble  you  for  that  bottle,  O'Dris- 
col." 

"  Here  it  is.  I  shall  stick  to  wine;  I  don't  care  for  that 
fiery  stuff.  Here  is  success  to  the  campaign,  and  may  we 
meet  the  French  before  long ! 

"We  are  pretty  sure  to  do  that,"  he  went  on,  as  he  set 
his  horn  down  on  the  table.  "  If  Junot  knows  his  business 
he  won't  lose  a  day  before  marching  against  us  directly  he 
hears  of  our  landing.  He  will  know  well  enough  that  unless 
he  crushes  us  at  once  he  will  have  all  Portugal  up  in  arms. 
Here,  Terence,  you  can  have  this  horn." 


UNDER    CANVAS  59 

The  difficulty  of  drinking  had  to  some  extent  been  solved 
by  Hoolan,  who  had  gone  downstairs,  and  returned  with  a 
tin  pot  capable  of  holding  about  a  couple  of  quarts.  This  he 
had  cleaned  by  rubbing  it  with  sand  and  water,  and  it  went 
round  as  a  loving-cup  among  those  unprovided  with  mugs  or 
horns.  When  all  had  finished,  the  two  soldier  servants,  who 
had  now  arrived  with  the  rations,  were  left  in  charge.  O'Dris- 
col's  servant  had  brought  in  a  dozen  fowls  and  a  large  basket 
full  of  eggs,  and,  ordering  supper  to  be  ready  at  eight,  the 
officers  returned  to  their  camp.  They  found  that  their  com- 
rades had  done  fairly  well.  Several  rooms  had  been  obtained 
in  the  village,  and  hams,  black  sausages,  and  other  provisions 
purchased,  and  cooked  in  a  rough  way  on  a  gridiron. 

"  I  am  afraid  that  it  is  too  good  to  last,"  the  colonel  said, 
as  the  officers  gathered  around  him  as  the  bugle  sounded  for 
parade  ;  "  a  week  of  this  and  the  last  scrap  of  provisions  here 
will  have  been  eaten,  and  we  shall  have  nothing  but  our  ra- 
tions to  fall  back  upon.  There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  is 
not  likely  to  give  out,  that  is  wine.  They  grow  it  about  here, 
and  I  hear  that  the  commissariat  have  bought  up  large  quan- 
tities without  difficulty  to  serve  out  to  the  troops. ' ' 

The  regiment  had  a  long  afternoon's  drill  to  get  them  out 
of  the  slackness  occasioned  by  their  enforced  idleness  on  the 
voyage.  When  it  was  over  they  were  formed  up,  and  the 
colonel  addressed  a  few  words  to  the  men. 

"  Men  of  the  Mayo  regiment,"  he  said,  "  I  trust  that,  now 
we  are  fairly  embarked  upon  the  campaign,  you  will  so  be- 
have as  to  do  credit  to  yourselves  and  to  Ireland.  Perhaps 
some  of  you  think  that,  now  that  you  are  on  a  campaign,  you 
can  do  just  as  you  like.  Those  who  think  so  are  wrong ;  it  is 
just  the  other  way.  When  you  were  at  home  I  did  not  think 
it  necessary  that  I  should  be  severe  with  you  ;  and  as  long  as 
a  man  was  able,  when  he  came  into  barracks,  to  walk  to  his 


60  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

quarters,  I  did  not  trouble  about  him.  But  it  is  different  here; 
any  breach  of  duty  will  be  most  severely  punished,  and  any 
man  who  is  found  drunk  will  be  flogged.  Any  man  plunder- 
ing or  ill-treating  the  people  of  the  country  will  be  handed 
over  to  the  provost-marshal,  and,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  he  is 
likely  to  be  shot. 

' '  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  is  not  the  man  to  stand  nonsense. 
There  must  be  no  straggling;  you  must  keep  within  the 
bounds  of  the  camps,  and  no  one  must  go  into  the  village 
without  a  permit  from  the  captain  of  his  company.  As  to 
your  fighting  —  well,  I  have  no  fear  of  that ;  we  will  say 
nothing  about  it.  Before  the  enemy  I  know  that  you  will  all  do 
your  duty,  and  it  is  just  as  necessary  that  you  should  do  your 
duty  and  be  a  credit  to  your  regiment  at  other  times.  There 
are  blackguards  in  the  regiment,  as  there  are  in  every  other, 
but  I  tell  them  that  a  sharp  eye  will  be  kept  upon  them,  and 
that  no  mercy  will  be  shown  them  if  they  misbehave  while 
they  are  in  Portugal.  That  is  all  I  have  to  say  to  you." 

"That  was  the  sort  of  thing,  I  think,  Major,"  he  said,  as, 
after  the  men  were  dismissed,  he  walked  back  to  his  tent  with 
Major  Harrison. 

"  Just  the  sort  of  thing,  Colonel,"  the  other  said,  smiling; 
"  and  said  in  the  sort  of  way  that  they  will  understand.  I 
am  afraid  that  we  shall  have  trouble  with  some  of  them. 
Wine  and  spirits  are  cheap,  and  it  will  be  very  difficult  to 
keep  them  from  it  altogether.  Still,  if  we  make  an  example 
of  the  first  fellow  who  is  caught  drunk  it  will  be  a  useful  lesson 
to  the  whole.  A  few  floggings  at  the  start  may  save  some 
hanging  afterwards.  I  know  you  are  averse  to  flogging — there 
have  only  been  four  men  flogged  in  the  last  six  months — but 
this  is  a  case  where  punishment  must  be  dealt  out  sharply  if 
discipline  is  to  be  maintained,  and  the  credit  of  the  regiment 
be  kept  up." 


UNDER   CANVAS  61 

O'Grady  and  one  of  the  other  officers  called  upon  the 
priest  to  thank  him  for  his  good  offices  in  obtaining  the  room 
for  them. 

"  I  am  afraid  from  what  my  man  tells  me  that  he  did  not 
state  the  case  quite  fairly  to  you.  Our  regiment  was,  as  he 
said,  raised  in  Ireland,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  men  are 
naturally  of  your  faith,  Father,  but  we  really  have  no  claim  to 
your  services  whatever." 

The  priest  smiled. 

"I  am,  nevertheless,  glad  to  have  been  of  service  to  you, 
gentlemen,"  he  said,  courteously;  "  at  least  you  are  Irish- 
men, and  I  have  many  good  friends  countrymen  of  yours. 
And  you  have  still  another  claim  upon  us  all,  for  are  you  not 
here  to  aid  us  to  shake  off  this  French  domination  ?  I  hope 
that  you  are  comfortable,  but  judging  from  what  I  see  and 
hear  when  passing  I  fear  that  your  lodging  is  a  somewhat  noisy 
one." 

"  You  may  well  say  that,  Father ;  and  we  do  our  full  share 
towards  making  it  so ;  but  having  the  room  makes  all  the  dif- 
ference to  us.  They  have  no  time  to  cook  downstairs,  and  it 
is  done  by  our  own  servants ;  but  it  is  handy  to  have  the 
wine  and  other  things  within  call,  and  if  we  always  do  as  well, 
we  shall  have  good  cause  to  feel  mighty  contented ;  for  bar- 
ring that  we  are  rather  crowded,  we  are  just  as  well  off  here 
as  we  were  at  home,  saving  only  in  the  quality  of  the  spirits. 
Now,  Father,  we  cannot  ask  you  up  there,  seeing  that  it  is 
your  own  village,  but  if  you  would  like  to  take  a  walk  through 
the  camps  we  should  be  glad  to  show  you  what  there  is  to  be 
seen,  and  can  give  you  a  little  of  the  real  cratur.  It  is  not 
much  of  it  that  we  have  been  able  to  bring  ashore,  for  the 
general  is  mighty  stiff  in  the  matter  of  baggage,  but  I  doubt 
whether  there  is  one  of  us  who  did  not  manage  to  smuggle  a 
bottle  or  two  of  the  real  stuff  hidden  in  his  kit. ' ' 


62  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

The  priest  accepted  the  invitation,  and  was  taken  through 
the  brigade  camp,  staying  some  time  in  that  of  the  Mayos,  and 
astonishing  some  of  the  soldiers  by  chatting  to  them  in  English, 
and  with  a  brogue  almost  as  strong  as  their  own.  He  then 
spent  half  an  hour  in  O'Grady's  tent,  and  sampled  the  whisky, 
which  he  pronounced  excellent,  and  of  which  his  entertainer 
insisted  upon  his  taking  a  bottle  away  with  him. 

Three  days  later  it  was  known  in  camp  that  two  French 
divisions  had  been  set  in  motion  against  them,  the  one  from 
Abrantes  to  the  east  under  Loison,  the  other  from  the  south 
under  Laborde.  Junot  himself  remained  at  Lisbon.  The 
rising  in  the  south,  and  the  news  of  the  British  landing 
caused  an  intense  feeling  among  the  population,  and  the 
French  general  feared  that  at  any  moment  an  insurrection 
might  break  out.  The  natural  point  of  junction  of  these  two 
columns  would  be  at  Leirya.  That  night  orders  were  issued 
for  the  tents  of  the  division  to  which  the  Mayo  regiment  be- 
longed to  be  struck  before  daylight,  and  the  troops  were  to 
be  under  arms  and  ready  to  march  at  six  o'clock. 

"  Good  news  !  "  O'Grady  said,  as  he  entered  the  mess-room 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  after  having  learned  from  the 
colonel  the  orders  for  the  next  morning;  "  our  brigade  is  to  form 
the  advanced  guard,  and  we  are  to  march  at  six  to-morrow." 

A  general  exclamation  of  pleasure  broke  from  the  five  or 
six  officers  present.  "  We  shall  have  the  first  of  the  fun, 
boys ;  hand  me  that  horn,  Terence.  Here  is  to  Sir  Arthur ; 
good-luck  to  him,  and  bad  cess  to  the  French  !  " 

The  toast  was  drunk  with  some  laughter.  "  Now  we  are 
going  to  campaign  in  earnest,"  he  went  on ;  "  no  more  wine 
swilling,  no  more  devilled  ham " 

"No  more  spirits,  O'Grady,"  one  of  the  group  cut  in; 
"  and  as  for  the  wine,  you  have  drunk  your  share,  besides 
twice  your  share  of  the  spirits." 


UNDER  CANVAS  63 

"  Whin  there  is  nothing  to  do,  Debenham,  I  can  take  me 
liquor  in  moderation." 

"I  have  never  remarked  that,  O'Grady,"  one  of  the 
others  put  in. 

"  In  great  moderation,"  O'Grady  said,  gravely,  but  he  was 
again  interrupted  by  a  shout  of  laughter. 

11  Ye  had  to  be  helped  home  last  night,  O'Grady,  and  it 
took  Hoolan  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  wake  you  this  morning. 
I  heard  him  say,  '  Now,  master  dear,  the  bugle  will  sound  in 
a  minute  or  two ;  it's  wake  you  must,  or  there  will  be  a  divil 
of  botheration  over  it.'  I  looked  in,  and  there  you  were. 
Hoolan  was  standing  by  the  side  of  you  shaking  his  head 
gravely,  as  if  it  was  a  hopeless  job  that  he  had  in  hand,  and  if 
I  had  not  emptied  a  water-bottle  over  you,  you  would  never 
have  been  on  parade  in  time." 

"Oh!  it  was  you,  was  it?"  O'Grady  said,  wrathfully. 
"  Hoolan  swore  by  all  the  saints  that  he  had  not  seen  who  it 
was.  Never  mind,  me  boy,  I  will  be  even  wid  ye  yet ;  the 
O'Grady  is  not  to  be  waked  in  that  fashion  ;  mind  I  owe  you 
one,  though  I  am  not  saying  that  I  should  have  been  on 
parade  in  time  if  you  had  not  done  it ;  I  only  just  saved  my 
bacon." 

"And  hardly  that,"  Terence  laughed,  "for  the  adjutant 
was  down  upon  you  pretty  sharply ;  your  coatee  was  all  but- 
toned up  wrong  ;  your  hair  had  not  been  brushed,  and  stuck 
up  all  ways  below  your  shako  ;  your  sword-belt  was  all  awry, 
and  you  looked  worse  than  you  did  when  I  brought  you 
home." 

"  Well,  it  is  a  poor  heart  that  never  rejoices,  Terence.  We 
must  make  a  night  of  it,  boys ;  if  the  tents  are  to  be  struck 
before  daylight  it  will  be  mighty  little  use  your  turning  in." 

"You  won't  catch  me  sitting  up  all  night,"  Terence  said, 
"  with  perhaps  a  twenty-mile  march  in  the  morning,  and  may- 


64  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

be  a  fight  at  the  end  of  it.  If  it  is  to  Leirya  we  are  going  it 
will  be  nearer  thirty  miles  than  twenty,  and  even  you,  sea- 
soned vessel  as  you  are,  will  find  it  a  long  walk  after  being  up 
all  night,  and  having  had  pretty  hard  work  to-day." 

"I  cannot  hold  wid  the  general  there,"  O'Grady  said, 
gravely ;  "he  has  been  kapeing  us  all  at  it  from  daybreak  till 
night,  ivery  day  since  we  landed,  and  marching  the  men's  feet 
off.  It  is  all  very  well  to  march  when  we  have  got  to  march, 
but  to  keep  us  tramping  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  a  day  when 
there  is  no  occasion  for  it  is  out  of  all  reason." 

"  We  shall  march  all  the  better  for  it  to-morrow,  O'Grady. 
It  has  been  hard  work,  certainly,  but  not  harder  than  it  was 
marching  down  to  Cork ;  and  we  should  have  a  good  many 
stragglers  to-morrow  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  last  week's 
work.  We  have  got  half  a  dozen  footsore  men  in  my  com- 
pany alone,  and  you  would  have  fifty  to-morrow  night  if  the 
men  had  not  had  all  this  marching  to  get  them  fit. ' ' 

"It  is  all  very  well  for  you,  Terence,  who  have  been 
tramping  all  over  the  hills  round  Athlone  since  you  were  a 
gossoon  ;  but  I  am  sure  that  if  I  had  not  had  that  day  off 
duty  when  I  showed  the  priest  round  the  camp  I  should  have 
been  kilt." 

"  Here  is  the  general  order  of  the  day,"  the  adjutant  said, 
as  he  came  in  with  Captain  O'Connor.  "  The  general  says 
that  now  the  army  is  about  to  take  the  field  he  shall  expect 
the  strictest  discipline  to  be  maintained,  and  that  all  stragglers 
from  the  ranks  will  at  once  be  handed  over  to  the  provost- 
marshal,  and  all  offences  against  the  peasantry  or  their  prop- 
erty will  be  severely  punished.  Then  there  are  two  or  three 
orders  that  do  not  concern  us  particularly,  and  then  there  is 
one  that  concerns  you,  Terence.  The  general  has  received  a 
report  from  Colonel  Corcoran  of  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  stating 
that  *  the  transport  carrying  the  left  wing  of  that  regiment 


UNDER    CANVAS  65 

was  attacked  by  two  French  privateers,  and  would  have  been 
compelled  to  surrender,  she  being  practically  unarmed,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  coolness  and  quick  wit  of  Ensign  Terence 
O'Connor.  Having  read  the  report  the  general  commanding 
fully  concurs,  and  expresses  his  high  satisfaction  at  the  con- 
duct of  Ensign  O'Connor,  which  undoubtedly  saved  from 
capture  the  wing  of  the  regiment. ' 

"There,  Terence,  that  is  a  feather  in  your  cap.  Sir  Ar- 
thur is  not  given  to  praise  unduly,  and  it  is  seldom  that  an 
ensign  gets  into  general  orders.  It  will  do  you  good  some 
day,  perhaps  when  you  least  expect  it." 

"  I  am  heartily  pleased,  my  lad,"  Captain  O'Connor  said, 
as  he  laid  his  hand  upon  Terence's  shoulder.  "  I  am  proud 
of  you.  I  have  never  seen  my  own  name  in  general  orders, 
but  I  am  heartily  glad  to  see  yours.  Bedad,  when  I  think 
that  a  couple  of  months  ago  you  were  running  wild  and  get- 
ting into  all  sorts  of  mischief,  it  seems  hard  to  believe  that  you 
should  not  only  be  one  of  us,  but  have  got  your  name  into 
general  orders." 

"  And  all  for  nothing,  father,"  Terence  said.  "I  call  it 
a  beastly  shame  that  just  because  I  thought  of  using  that  lug- 
ger I  should  be  cracked  up  more  than  the  others." 

"  It  was  not  only  that,  though,  Terence ;  those  guns  that 
crippled  the  lugger  could  not  have  been  fired  if  you  had  not 
thought  of  putting  rope  round  them,  and  that  French  frigate 
would  never  have  left  you  alone  had  not  you  suggested  to  the 
major  how  to  throw  dust  into  their  eyes.  No,  my  lad,  you 
thoroughly  deserve  the  credit  that  you  have  got,  and  I  am 
sure  that  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  regiment  who  would  not 
say  the  same. ' ' 

"Gintlemen,"  Captain  O'Grady  said,  solemnly,  "  we  will 
drink  to  the   health   of  Ensign  Terence   O'Connor;   more 
power  to  his  elbow  I  "     And  the  toast  was  duly  honoured. 
5 


66  WITH    MOORE    AT   CORUNNA 

"It  is  mighty  good  of  me  to  propose  it,"  O'Grady  went 
on,  after  Terence  had  said  a  few  words  of  thanks,  "  because  I 
have  a  strong  idea  that  in  another  two  or  three  minutes  I 
should  have  made  just  the  same  suggestion  that  you  did,  me 
lad.  I  knew  at  the  time  that  there  was  a  plan  I  wanted  to 
propose,  but  sorra  a  word  came  to  me  lips.  I  was  just  brim- 
ful with  it  when  you  came  up  and  took  the  words  out  of  me 
mouth.  If  I  had  spoken  first  it  is  a  brevet  majority  I  had 
got,  sure  enough." 

"  You  must  be  quicker  next  time,  O'Grady,"  the  adjutant 
said,  when  the  laughter  had  subsided;  "  as  you  say,  you  have 
missed  a  good  thing  by  your  slowness.  I  am  afraid  your 
brain  was  still  a  little  muddled  by  your  indulgence  the  night 
before." 

"  Just  the  contrary,  me  boy ;  I  feel  that  if  I  had  taken 
just  one  glass  more  of  the  cratur  me  brain  would  have  been 
clearer  and  I  should  have  been  to  the  fore.  But  I  bear  you 
no  malice,  Terence.  Maybe  the  ideas  would  not  have  man- 
aged to  straighten  themselves  out  until  after  we  had  had  to 
haul  down  the  flag,  and  then  it  would  have  been  too  late  to 
have  been  any  good.  It  has  happened  to  me  more  than 
once  before  that  I  have  just  thought  of  a  good  thing  when  it 
was  too  late." 

"It  has  occurred  to  most  of  us,  O'Grady,"  Captain 
O'Connor  said,  laughing.  "Terence,  you  see,  doesn't  care 
for  whisky,  and  perhaps  that  has  something  to  do  with  his 
ideas  coming  faster  than  ours.  Well,  so  we  are  off  to-morrow ; 
though,  of  course,  no  one  knows  which  way  we  are  going  to 
march,  it  must  be  either  to  Leirya  or  along  the  coast  road. 
It  is  a  good  thing  Spencer  has  come  up  in  time,  for  there  is 
no  saying  how  strong  the  French  may  be ;  though  I  fancy 
they  are  all  so  scattered  about  that,  after  leaving  a  garrison 
to  keep  Lisbon  in  order,  and  holding  other  points,  Junot  will 


UNDER   CANVAS  67 

hardly  be  able  at  such  short  notice  to  gather  a  force  much 
superior  to  ours.  But  from  what  I  hear  there  are  some  mighty 
strong  positions  between  this  and  Lisbon,  and  if  he  sticks 
himself  up  on  the  top  of  a  hill  we  shall  have  all  our  work  to 
turn  him  off  again." 

"  I  fancy  it  will  be  to  Leirya,"  the  adjutant  said;  "  the 
Portuguese  report  that  one  French  division  is  at  Candieros 
and  another  coming  from  Abrantes,  and  Sir  Arthur  is  likely 
to  endeavour  to  prevent  them  from  uniting." 

That  evening  there  was  a  grand  feast  at  the  mess-room. 
The  colonel  had  been  specially  invited,  and  every  effort  was 
made  to  do  honour  to  the  occasion.  Tim  Hoolan  had  been 
very  successful  in  a  foraging  expedition,  and  had  brought  in  a 
goose  and  four  ducks,  and  had  persuaded  the  landlord's  nieces 
to  let  him  and  the  cook  have  sole  possession  of  the  kitchen. 
The  banquet  was  a  great  success,  but  the  majority  of  those 
present  did  not  sit  very  long  afterwards.  The  colonel  set  the 
example  of  rising  early. 

"I  should  advise  you,  gentlemen,  to  turn  in  soon,"  he 
said.  "  I  do  not  say  where  we  are  to  march  to-morrow,  but 
I  can  tell  you  at  least  that  the  march  is  a  very  long  one,  and 
that  it  were  best  to  get  as  much  sleep  as  possible,  for  I  can 
assure  you  that  it  will  be  no  child's  play ;  and  I  think  that  it 
is  quite  probable  we  shall  smell  powder  before  the  day  is 
over." 

Accordingly,  all  the  young  officers  and  several  of  the  seniors 
left  with  him,  but  O'Grady  and  several  of  the  hard  drinkers 
kept  it  up  until  midnight,  observing,  however,  more  modera- 
tion than  usual  in  their  potations. 

There  was  none  of  the  grumbling  common  when  men  are 
turned  out  of  their  beds  before  dawn  ;  all  were  in  high  spirits 
that  the  time  for  action  had  arrived ;  the  men  were  as  eager  to 
meet  the  enemy  as  were  their  officers  ;  and  the  tents  were  all 


68  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

down  and  placed  in  the  waggons  before  daylight.  The  regi- 
mental cooks  had  already  been  at  work,  and  the  officers  went 
round  and  saw  that  all  had  had  breakfast  before  they  fell  in. 
At  six  o'clock  the  whole  were  under  arms  and  in  their  place 
as  the  central  regiment  in  the  brigade.  They  tramped  on 
without  a  halt  until  eleven  ;  then  the  bugle  sounded,  and  they 
fell  out  for  half  an  hour. 

The  men  made  a  meal  from  bread  and  the  meat  that  had 
been  cooked  the  night  before,  each  man  carrying  three  days' 
rations  in  his  haversack.  There  was  another  halt,  and  a  longer 
one,  at  two  o'clock,  when  the  brigade  rested  for  an  hour  in 
the  shade  of  a  grove. 

"It  is  mighty  pleasant  to  rest,"  O'Grady  said,  as  the  officers 
threw  themselves  down  on  the  grass,  "but  it  is  the  starting 
that  bates  one.  I  feel  that  my  feet  have  swollen  so  that  every 
step  I  take  I  expect  my  boots  to  burst  with  an  explosion. 
Faith,  if  it  comes  to  fighting  I  shall  take  them  off  altogether, 
and  swing  them  at  my  belt.  How  can  I  run  after  the  French 
when  I  am  a  cripple  ?  ' ' 

"  You  had  better  take  your  boots  off  now,  O'Grady,"  one 
of  the  others  suggested. 

"  It  is  not  aisy  to  get  them  off,  and  how  should  I  get  them 
on  again  ?  No ;  they  have  got  there,  and  there  they  have  got 
to  stop,  bad  cess  to  them  !  I  told  Hoolan  to  rub  grease  into 
them  for  an  hour  last  night,  but  the  rascal  was  as  drunk  as  an 
owl." 

There  was  no  more  talking,  for  every  man  felt  that  an 
hour's  sleep  would  do  wonders  for  him  ;  soon  absolute  quiet 
reigned  in  the  grove,  and  continued  until  the  bugle  again 
called  them  to  their  feet.  All  knew  now  that  it  was  Leirya 
they  were  making  for,  and  that  another  ten  miles  still  re- 
mained to  be  accomplished.  A  small  body  of  cavalry  which 
accompanied  them  now  pushed  on  ahead,  and  when  half  the 


UNDER   CANVAS  69 

distance  had  been  traversed  a  trooper  brought  back  the  news 
that  the  enemy  had  not  yet  reached  the  town.  It  was  just 
six  o'clock  when  the  brigade  marched  in  amid  the  cheers  and 
wild  excitement  of  the  inhabitants.  The  waggons  were  not 
yet  up,  and  the  troops  were  quartered  in  the  town,  tired,  and 
many  of  them  foot-sore,  but  proud  of  the  march  they  had 
accomplished,  and  that  it  had  enabled  them  to  forestall  the 
French. 

Laborde,  indeed,  arrived  the  same  night  at  Batalha,  eight 
miles  distant,  but  on  receiving  the  news  in  the  morning  that 
the  British  had  already  occupied  Leirya,  he  advanced  no 
farther.  His  position  was  an  exceedingly  difficult  one  ;  his 
orders  were  to  cover  the  march  of  Loison  from  Abrantes,  and 
to  form  a  junction  with  that  general  \  but  to  do  so  now  would 
be  to  leave  open  the  road  through  Alcobaca  and  Obidos  to  the 
commanding  position  at  Torres  Vedras.  Batalha  offered  no 
position  that  he  could  hope  to  defend  until  the  arrival  of 
Loison ;  therefore,  sending  word  to  that  general  to  move  from 
Torras  Novas,  as  soon  as  he  reached  that  town,  to  Santarem, 
and  then  to  march  to  join  him  at  Rolica,  he  fell  back  to 
Alcobaca  and  then  to  Obidos,  a  town  with  a  Moorish  castle, 
built  on  a  gentle  eminence  in  the  middle  of  a  valley. 

Leaving  a  detachment  here,  he  retired  to  Rolica,  six  miles 
to  the  south  of  it.  At  this  point  several  roads  met,  and  he 
at  once  covered  all  the  approaches  to  Torres  Vedras,  and  the 
important  port  of  Peniche,  and  could  be  joined  by  Loison 
marching  down  from  Santarem. 

The  advanced  brigade  of  the  British  force  remained  in  quiet 
possession  of  Leirya  during  the  next  day,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing, the  nth  of  August,  the  main  body  of  the  army  arrived, 
having  taken  two  days  on  the  march.  The  Portuguese  force 
also  came  in  under  Friere.  That  general  at  once  took  posses- 
sion of  the  magazines  there,  and  although  he  had  promised 


70  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

the  English  general  that  their  contents  should  be  entirely 
devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  the  English  army,  he  divided 
them  among  his  own  force. 

Disgusted  as  the  British  commander  was  at  this  barefaced 
dishonesty,  he  was  not  in  a  position  to  quarrel  with  the  Portu- 
guese. It  was  essential  to  him  that  they  should  accompany 
him,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  assistance  that  they  would  give, 
for  he  knew  that  none  was  to  be  expected  from  them,  but 
from  a  political  point  of  view.  It  was  most  important  that 
the  people  at  large  should  feel  that  their  own  troops  were 
acting  with  the  British,  and  that  no  feelings  of  jealousy  or 
suspicion  of  the  latter  should  arise.  Friere  was  acting  under 
the  orders  of  the  Bishop  and  Junta  of  Oporto,  whose  great 
object  was  to  keep  the  Portuguese  army  together  and  not  to 
risk  a  defeat,  as  they  desired  to  keep  this  body  intact  in  order 
that,  if  the  British  were  defeated,  they  should  be  able  to  make 
favourable  terms  for  themselves.  Consequently,  even  after 
appropriating  the  whole  of  the  stores  and  provisions  found  at 
Leirya,  Friere  continued  to  make  exorbitant  demands,  and  to 
offer  a  vigorous  opposition  to  any  further  advance. 

So  far  did  he  carry  this  that  the  British  general,  finding 
that  in  no  other  way  could  he  get  the  Portuguese  to  advance 
with  him,  proposed  that  they  should  follow  behind  him  and 
wait  the  result  of  the  battle,  to  which  Friere  at  last  consented. 
The  Portuguese,  in  fact,  had  no  belief  whatever  that  the  British 
troops  would  be  able  to  withstand  the  onslaught  of  the  French, 
whom  they  regarded  as  invincible.  Colonel  Trant,  however, 
one  of  our  military  agents,  succeeded  in  inducing  Friere  to 
place  1,400  infantry  and  250  cavalry  under  the  command  of 
Sir  Arthur. 

The  addition  of  the  cavalry  was  a  very  useful  one,  for  the 
English  had  with  them  only  180  mounted  men  ;  the  country 
was  entirely  new  to  them,  scarcely  an  officer  could  speak  the 


UNDER   CANVAS  71 

language,  and  there  was  no  means,  therefore,  of  obtaining  in- 
formation as  to  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  Moving  for- 
ward through  Batalha,  and  regaining  the  coast  road  at  Alco- 
baca,  the  British  forces  arrived  at  Caldas  on  the  i5th  ;  and  on 
the  same  day  Junot  quitted  Lisbon  with  a  force  of  2,000  in- 
fantry, 2,000  cavalry,  and  ten  pieces  of  artillery,  leaving  7,000 
to  garrison  the  forts  and  keep  down  the  population  of  the  city. 
His  force  was  conveyed  to  Villa  Franca  by  water,  and  the 
general  then  pushed  forward  to  Santarem,  where  he  found 
Loison,  and  took  command  of  his  division. 

The  British  advanced  guard,  after  arriving  at  Caldas,  pushed 
forward,  drove  the  French  pickets  out  of  Brilos,  and  then  from 
Obidos.  Here,  however,  a  slight  reverse  took  place.  Some 
companies  of  the  95th  and  6oth  Rifles  pressed  forward  three 
miles  farther  in  pursuit,  when  they  were  suddenly  attacked 
in  flank  by  a  greatly  superior  force,  and  had  it  not  been  that 
General  Spencer,  whose  division  was  but  a  short  distance 
behind,  pressed  forward  to  their  assistance,  they  would  have 
suffered  heavily ;  as  it  was  they  escaped  with  the  loss  of  two 
officers  and  twenty-seven  men  killed  and  wounded.  Their 
rashness,  however,  led  to  the  discovery  that  Laborde's  force 
had  taken  up  a  strong  position  in  front  of  the  village  of  Rolica, 
and  that  he  apparently  intended  to  give  battle  there. 

The  next  day  was  spent  in  reconnoitring  the  French  posi- 
tion. It  was  a  very  strong  one.  Rolica  stood  on  a  table-land 
.rising  in  a  valley,  affording  a  view  of  the  road  as  far  as  Obidos. 
The  various  points  of  defence  there,  and  on  the  flank,  were 
held  by  strong  parties  of  the  enemy.  A  mile  in  the  rear  was 
a  steep  and  lofty  ridge  that  afforded  a  strong  second  line  of 
defence.  By  the  side  of  this  ridge  the  road  passed  through  a 
deep  defile,  and  then  mounted  over  a  pass  through  the  range 
of  hills  extending  from  the  sea  to  the  Tagus,  and  occupying 
the  intermediate  ground  until  close  to  Lisbon.  Laborde's 


72  WITH    MOORE    AT   CORUNNA 

position  was  an  embarrassing  one.  If  he  retired  upon  Torres 
Vedras  his  line  of  communication  with  Loison  would  be  lost, 
if  he  moved  to  meet  Loison  he  would  leave  open  the  direct 
road  to  Lisbon,  while  if  he  remained  at  Rolica  he  had  to  en- 
counter a  force  almost  three  times  his  own  strength. 

Trusting  in  the  advantages  of  his  position,  and  confident  in 
the  valour  of  his  troops,  he  chose  the  last  alternative.  Very 
anxiously,  during  the  day,  the  British  officers  watched  the 
French  line  of  defence,  fearful  lest  the  enemy  would  again 
retreat.  By  sunset  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Laborde 
intended  to  stay  where  he  was,  and  to  meet  them.  The 
French,  indeed,  had  been  so  accustomed  to  beat  the  Spanish 
and  Portuguese,  that  they  had  not  woke  up  to  the  fact  that 
they  had  troops  of  a  very  different  material  facing  them. 

"We  ought  to  have  easy  work,"  Major  Harrison  said,  as 
the  officers  gathered  round  the  fire  that  had  been  built  in 
front  of  the  colonel's  tent ;  "  the  people  here  all  declare  that 
Laborde  has  not  above  5,000  troops  with  him,  while,  counting 
Trant's  Portuguese,  we  have  nearly  14,000." 

"  There  will  be  no  credit  in  thrashing  them  with  such  odds 
as  that,"  Dick  Ryan  grumbled. 

"I  suppose,  Ryan,"  Major  Harrison  said,  "if  you  had 
been  in  Sir  Arthur's  place  you  would  have  preferred  remaining 
at  Leirya  until  Junot  could  have  gathered  all  his  forces,  and 
obtained  a  reinforcement  of  some  fifty  thousand  or  so  from 
Spain,  then  you  would  have  issued  a  general  order  saying,  that 
as  the  enemy  had  now  a  hundred  thousand  troops  ready,  the 
army  would  advance  and  smite  them." 

"  Not  so  bad  as  that,  Major,"  the  young  ensign  said,  col- 
ouring, as  there  was  a  general  laugh  from  the  rest ;  « '  but  there 
does  not  seem  much  satisfaction  in  thrashing  an  enemy  when 
we  are  three  to  one  against  him." 

"  But  that  is  just  the  art  of  war,  Ryan.     Of  course,  it  is 


UNDER   CANVAS  73 

glorious  to  defeat  a  greatly  superior  army  and  to  lose  half  your 
own  in  doing  so;  that  may  be  heroic,  but  it  is  not  modern 
war.  The  object  of  a  general  is,  if  possible,  to  defeat  an  enemy 
in  detail,  and  to  so  manoeuvre  that  he  is  always  superior  in 
strength  to  the  force  that  is  immediately  in  front  of  him,  and 
so  to  ensure  victory  after  victory  until  the  enemy  are  destroyed. 
That  is  what  the  general  is  doing  by  his  skilful  manoeuvring ; 
he  has  prevented  Junot  from  massing  the  whole  of  the  army 
of  Portugal  against  us. 

"  To-morrow  we  shall  defeat  Laborde,  and  doubtless  a  day 
or  two  later  we  shall  fight  Loison  ;  then  I  suppose  we  shall 
advance  against  Lisbon,  Junot  will  collect  his  beaten  troops 
and  his  garrison,  there  will  be  another  battle,  and  then  we 
shall  capture  Lisbon,  and  the  French  will  have  to  evacuate 
Portugal.  Whereas,  if  all  the  French  were  at  Rolica  they 
would  probably  smash  us  into  a  cocked  hat,  in  spite  of  any 
valour  we  might  show  ;  and  as  we  have  no  cavalry  to  cover  a 
retreat,  as  the  miserable  horses  can  scarcely  drag  the  few  guns 
that  we  have  got,  and  the  carriages  are  so  rickety  that  the  ar- 
tillery officers  are  afraid  that  as  soon  as  they  fire  them  they 
will  shake  to  pieces,  it  is  not  probable  that  a  single  man  would 
regain  our  ships." 

' '  Please  say  no  more,  Major ;  I  see  I  was  a  fool. ' ' 

"  Still,"  Captain  O'Connor  said,  "  you  must  own,  Major, 
that  one  does  like  to  win  against  odds." 

"  Quite  so,  O'Connor ;  individuals  who  may  survive  such  a 
battle  no  doubt  would  be  glad  that  it  was  a  superior  force  that 
they  had  beaten,  but  then  you  see  battles  are  not  fought  for  the 
satisfaction  of  individuals.  Moreover,  you  must  remember  that 
the  proportion  of  loss  is  much  heavier  when  the  numbers  are 
pretty  equally  matched,  for  in  that  case  they  must  meet  to  a 
certain  extent  face  to  face.  Skill  on  the  part  of  the  general 
may  do  a  great  deal,  but  in  the  end  it  must  come  to  sheer  hard 


74  WITH    MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

fighting.  Now,  I  expect  that  to-morrow,  although  there  may 
be  hard  fighting,  it  is  not  upon  that  that  Sir  Arthur  will  prin- 
cipally rely  for  turning  the  French  out  of  those  strong  positions. 

"  He  will,  no  doubt,  advance  directly  against  them  with  per- 
haps half  his  force,  but  the  rest  will  move  along  on  the  top  of 
the  heights,  and  so  threaten  to  cut  the  French  line  of  retreat 
altogether.  Laborde  is,  they  say,  a  good  general,  and  there- 
fore won't  wait  until  he  is  caught  in  a  trap,  but  will  fall  back 
as  soon  as  he  sees  that  the  line  of  retreat  is  seriously  menaced. 
I  fancy,  too,  that  he  must  expect  Loison  up  some  time  to- 
morrow, or  he  would  hardly  make  a  stand,  and  if  Loison  does 
come  up,  Ryan's  wish  will  be  gratified  and  we  shall  be  having 
the  odds  against  us. 

"  Then  you  must  remember  that  our  army  is  a  very  raw  one. 
A  large  proportion  of  it  is  newly  raised,  and  though  there  may 
be  a  few  men  here  who  fought  in  Egypt,  the  great  bulk  have 
never  seen  a  shot  fired  in  earnest ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  French  have  been  fighting  all  over  Europe.  They  are 
accustomed  to  victory,  and  are  confident  in  their  own  valour 
and  discipline.  Our  officers  are  as  raw  as  our  men,  and  we 
must  expect  that  all  sorts  of  blunders  will  be  made  at  first.  I 
can  tell  you  that  I  am  very  well  satisfied  that  our  first  battle 
is  going  to  be  fought  with  the  odds  greatly  on  our  side.  In 
six  months  I  should  feel  pretty  confident,  even  if  the  French 
had  the  same  odds  on  their  side. ' ' 

'*  The  major  gave  it  you  rather  hotly,  Dick,"  Terence  said 
to  his  friend,  as  they  sauntered  off  together  from  the  group. 
"  I  am  glad  that  you  spoke  first,  for  I  had  it  on  the  tip  of  my 
tongue  to  say  just  what  you  did,  and  I  expect  that  a  good 
many  of  the  others  felt  just  the  same." 

"  Yes,  I  put  my  foot  in  it  badly,  Terence.  I  have  no  doubt 
the  major  was  right ;  anyhow,  I  have  nothing  to  say  against  it. 
But  for  all  that  I  wish  that  either  we  were  not  so  strong  or 


ROLICA   AND   VIMIERA  75 

that  they  were  stronger.  What  credit  is  there,  I  should  like 
to  know,  in  thrashing  them  when  we  are  three  to  one  ?  Any- 
how, I  hope  that  we  shall  have  some  share  in  the  scrimmage. 
We  shall  get  an  idea  when  the  orders  are  published  to-night, 
and  shall  see  where  Fane's  brigade  is  to  be  put." 


CHAPTER   V 

ROLICA   AND    VIMIERA 

AT  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  it  became  known  that  the 
general  plan  of  attack  predicted  by  Major  Harrison  was 
to  be  carried  out.  Some  five  thousand  men  under  General 
Ferguson  were  to  ascend  the  hills  on  the  left  of  the  valley, 
while  Trant,  with  a  thousand  Portuguese  infantry  and  some 
Portuguese  horse,  were  to  move  on  the  hills  on  the  right ;  the 
centre,  nine  thousand  strong,  and  commanded  by  Sir  Arthur 
himself,  were  to  march  straight  up  the  valley. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  British  troops  marched  out  from 
Obidos.  Ferguson's  command  at  once  turned  to  the  left  and 
ascended  the  hills,  while  Trant's  moved  to  the  west. 

After  proceeding  a  short  distance,  Fane's  brigade  moved  off 
from  the  road  and  marched  along  the  valley,  equidistant  from 
the  main  body  and  from  Ferguson,  forming  a  connecting  link 
between  them ;  and  on  reaching  the  village  of  St.  Mamed, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  French  position,  Hill's  brigade 
turned  off  to  the  right.  From  their  elevated  position  the 
French  opened  fire  with  their  artillery,  and  this  was  answered 
by  the  twelve  guns  in  the  valley  and  from  Ferguson's  six  guns 
on  the  heights.  Fane's  brigade,  extended  to  its  left,  was  the 
first  in  action,  and  drove  back  the  French  skirmishers  and  con- 
nected Ferguson  with  the  centre.  They  then  turned  to  at- 


76 


WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 


tack  the  right  of  the  French  position  ;  while  Ferguson,  seeing 
no  signs  of  Loison's  force,  descended  from  the  high  ground  to 
the  rear  of  Fane,  while  the  Portuguese  pressed  forward  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley  and  threatened 
the  enemy's  left  flank. 


BATTLE  OF  ROLI9A 
9 


English  Miles 
« 


Walker  &•  Boittatl  sc. 

Seeing  that  his  position  was  absolutely  untenable,  Laborde 
did  not  wait  the  assault,  but  fell  back,  covered  by  his  cavalry, 
to  the  far  stronger  position  in  his  rear.  A  momentary  pause 
ensued  before  the  British  continued  their  advance.  The  new 
position  of  the  French  was  of  great  natural  strength,  and  could 
be  approached  only  by  narrow  paths  winding  up  through  deep 
ravines  on  its  face.  Ferguson  and  Fane  received  orders  to 


ROLICA   AND    VIMIERA  77 

keep  to  the  left,  and  so  turn  the  enemy's  right.  Trant  simi- 
larly was  to  push  forward  and  threaten  his  left  flank,  while 
Hill  and  Nightingale  advanced  against  the  front. 

The  battle  commenced  by  a  storm  of  skirmishers  from  these 
brigades  running  forward.  These  soon  reached  the  foot  of  the 
precipitous  hill  and  plunged  into  the  passes.  Neither  the  fire 
of  the  enemy  nor  the  difficulties  of  the  ascent  checked  them. 
Spreading  right  and  left  from  the  paths  they  made  their  way  up, 
and  taking  advantage  of  the  shelter  afforded  by  great  boulders, 
broken  masses  of  rock,  and  the  stumps  of  trees,  climbed  up 
wherever  they  could  find  a  foothold.  The  supporting  columns 
experienced  much  greater  difficulty  ;  the  paths  were  too  nar- 
row, and  the  ground  too  broken  for  them  to  retain  their  for- 
mation, and  they  made  their  way  forward  as  best  they  could 
in  necessary  disorder. 

The  din  of  battle  was  prodigious,  for  the  rattle  of  musketry 
was  echoed  and  re-echoed  from  the  rocks.  The  progress  of  the 
skirmishers  could  only  be  noted  by  the  light  smoke  rising 
through  the  foliage  and  by  the  shouts  of  the  soldiers,  which 
were  echoed  by  the  still  louder  ones  of  the  French,  gathered 
strongly  on  the  hill  above  them.  As  the  British  made  their 
way  up,  Laborde,  who  was  still  anxiously  looking  for  the  ex- 
pected coming  of  Loison,  withdrew  a  portion  of  his  troops 
from  the  left  and  strengthened  his  right,  in  order  to  hold  on  as 
long  as  possible  on  the  side  from  which  aid  was  expected. 
The  ardour  of  the  British  to  get  to  close  quarters  favoured  this 
movement. 

It  had  been  intended  that  the  gih  and  29th  Regiments  should 
take  the  right-hand  path  where  the  track  they  were  following 
up  the  pass  forked,  and  so  join  Trant's  Portuguese  at  the  top 
of  the  hill  and  fall  upon  the  French  left.  The  left-hand  path, 
however,  was  the  one  that  would  take  them  direct  to  the 
enemy,  and  the  29th,  which  was  leading,  took  this,  and  the  9th 


78  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

followed  them.  So  rapidly  did  they  press  up  the  hill  that  they 
arrived  at  the  crest  before  Ferguson  and  Fane,  on  the  left,  and 
Trant  on  the  right,  had  got  far  enough  to  menace  the  line  of 
retreat,  and  so  shake  the  enemy's  position.  The  consequence 
was,  that  as  the  right  wing  of  the  2Qth  arrived  at  the  top  of 
the  path  it  was  met  by  a  very  heavy  fire  before  it  could  form, 
and  some  companies  of  a  French  regiment,  who  had  been  cut 
off  from  the  main  body  by  its  sudden  appearance,  charged 
through  the  disordered  troops  and  carried  with  them  a  major 
and  fifty  or  sixty  other  prisoners. 

The  rest  of  the  wing,  thus  exposed  to  the  full  fire  of  the 
French,  fell  back  over  the  crest,  and  there  rallied  on  the  left 
wing  ;  and  being  joined  by  the  pth,  pushed  forward  again  and 
obtained  a  footing  on  the  plateau.  Laborde  in  vain  endeav- 
oured to  hurl  them  back  again.  They  maintained  their  footing, 
but  suffered  heavily,  both  the  colonels  being  killed,  with  many 
officers  and  men.  But  the  5th  Regiment  were  now  up,  and 
at  other  points  the  British  were  gathering  thickly  at  the  edge 
of  the  plateau.  Ferguson  and  Trant  were  pushing  on  fast  past 
the  French  flanks,  and  Laborde,  seeing  that  further  resistance 
would  lead  to  great  disaster,  gave  the  order  to  retire  to  a  third 
position,  still  farther  in  the  rear.  The  movement  was  con- 
ducted in  splendid  order.  The  French  steadily  fell  back  by 
alternate  masses,  their  guns  thundering  on  their  flanks,  while 
their  cavalry  covered  the  rear  by  repeated  charges. 

Gaining  the  third  position,  Laborde  held  it  for  a  time,  and 
so  enabled  isolated  bodies  of  his  force  to  join  him.  Then, 
finding  himself  unable  to  resist  the  impetuosity  of  the  British 
attack,  he  retired,  still  disputing  every  foot  of  ground,  and 
took  to  the  narrow  pass  of  Runa.  He  then  marched  all  night 
to  the  strong  position  of  Montechique,  thereby  securing  his 
junction  with  Loison,  but  leaving  the  road  to  Torres  Vedras 
open  to  the  British.  The  loss  of  the  French  in  this  fight  was 


ROLICA    AND   VIMIERA  79 

600  killed  and  wounded,  and  three  guns.  Laborde  himself 
was  among  the  wounded.  The  British  lost  nearly  500  killed, 
wounded,  or  taken  prisoners.  The  number  of  the  combatants 
actually  engaged  on  either  side  was  about  4,000,  and  the  loss 
sustained  showed  the  obstinacy  of  the  righting.  Sir  Arthur 
believed  that  the  French  had,  as  they  retreated,  been  joined 
by  Loison,  and  therefore  prepared  to  march  at  once  by  the 
coast-line  to  seize  the  heights  of  Torres  Vedras  before  the 
French  could  throw  themselves  in  his  way. 

Great  was  the  disappointment  among  officers  and  men  of  the 
Mayo  Fusiliers  that  they  had  taken  no  part  whatever  in  the 
actual  fighting,  beyond  driving  in  the  French  skirmishers  at 
the  beginning  of  the  operations. 

"  Divil  a  man  killed  or  wounded  !  "  Captain  O'Grady  re- 
marked, mournfully,  as  the  regiment  halted  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  fight.  "Faith,  it  is  too  bad,  entirely;  there  we  are 
left  out  in  the  cold,  and  scarce  a  shot  has  been  fired  !  " 

"There  are  plenty  of  others  in  the  same  case,"  Captain 
O'Driscol  said.  "None  of  our  three  brigades  on  the  left 
have  had  anything  to  do  with  the  matter,  as  far  as  fighting 
went.  I  don't  think  more  than  four  thousand  of  our  troops 
were  in  action ;  but  you  see  if  it  had  not  been  for  our 
advance,  Hill  and  Nightingale  might  not  have  succeeded  in 
driving  Laborde  off  the  hill.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
French  fought  well,  but  it's  our  advance  that  forced  him  to 
retire,  not  the  troops  in  front  of  him ;  so  that,  even  if  we 
have  not  had  any  killed  or  wounded,  O'Grady,  we  have  at 
least  the  satisfaction  of  having  contributed  to  the  victory." 

"  Oh,  bother  your  tactics  !  We  have  come  here  to  fight, 
and  no  fighting  have  we  had  at  all,  at  all.  When  we  marched 
out  this  morning  it  looked  as  if  we  were  going  to  have  our 
share  in  the  divarshon,  and  we  have  been  fairly  chated  out 
of  it." 


80  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"Well,  O'Grady,  you  should  not  grumble,"  Terence  said, 
"  for  we  had  some  fighting  on  the  way  out,  which  is  more 
than  any  of  the  other  troops  had." 

"  That  was  a  mere  skirmish,  Terence.  First  of  all  we  were 
shot  at,  and  could  not  shoot  back  again ;  and  thin  we  shot  at 
the  enemy,  and  they  could  not  shoot  back  at  us.  And  as  for 
the  boarding  affair,  faith,  it  did  not  last  a  minute.  The 
others  have  had  two  hours  of  steady  fighting,  clambering  up 
the  hill,  and  banging  away  at  the  enemy,  and  shouting  and 
cheering,  and  all  sorts  of  fun  ;  and  there  were  we,  tramping 
along  among  those  bastely  stones  and  rocks,  and  no  one  as 
much  as  took  the  trouble  to  fire  a  shot  at  us !  " 

"Well,  if  we  had  been  there,  O'Grady,  we  should  have 
lost  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  men  and  officers — if  we  had 
suffered  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  others — and  we  should 
now  be  mourning  their  loss — perhaps  you  among  them.  We 
might  have  been  saying :  «  There  is  O'Grady  gone ;  he  was  a 
beggar  to  talk,  but  he  meant  well.  Faith,  the  drink  bill  of 
the  regiment  will  fall  off.'  " 

"  Well,  it  might  have  been  so,"  O'Grady  said,  in  a  more 
contented  voice  ;  "  and  if  I  had  been  killed  going  up  the  hill, 
without  even  as  much  as  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  Frenchies, 
I  would  niver  have  forgiven  them — niver  !  ' ' 

There  was  a  roar  of  laughter  at  the  bull. 

"  Phwat  is  it  have  I  said  ?  "  he  asked,  in  surprise. 

"  Nothing,  O'Grady;  but  it  would  be  an  awful  thing  for 
the  French  to  know  that  after  your  death  you  would  have 
gone  on  hating  them  for  ever." 

"  Did  I  say  that?  But  you  know  my  maneing,  and  as 
long  as  you  know  that,  what  does  it  matter  which  way  I  put 
it?  Well,  now,  I  suppose  Sir  Arthur  is  going  to  take 
us  tramping  along  again.  Ah,  it  is  a  weary  thing  being  a 
soldier!" 


ROLICA   AND    VIMIERA  81 

"Why,  you  were  saying  yesterday,  O'Grady,  that  your 
feet  were  getting  all  right,"  Terence  said. 

"  All  right  in  a  manner,  Terence.  And  it  is  a  bad  habit 
that  you  have  got  of  picking  up  your  supayrior  officer's  words 
and  throwing  them  into  his  teeth.  You  will  come  to  a  bad 
end  if  you  don't  break  yourself  of  it ;  and  the  worst  of  it  is, 
you  are  corrupting  the  other  lads,  and  the  young  officers  are 
losing  all  respect  for  their  seniors.  I  am  surprised,  Major, 
that  you  and  the  colonel  don't  take  the  matter  in  hand  before 
the  discipline  of  the  regiment  is  destroyed  entirely." 

"  You  draw  it  upon  yourself,  O'Grady,  and  it  is  good  for 
us  all  to  have  a  laugh  sometimes.  We  should  all  have  missed 
you  sorely  had  you  gone  down  on  that  hill  over  there — as 
many  a  good  fellow  has  done.  I  hear  that  both  the  pth  and 
2Qth  have  lost  their  colonels." 

"  The  Lord  presarve  us  from  such  a  misfortune,  Major  ! 
It  would  give  us  a  step  all  through  the  regiment ;  but  then, 
you  see "  And  he  stopped. 

"  You  mean  I  should  be  colonel,  O'Grady,"  the  major  said, 
with  a  laugh  ;  ' '  and  you  know  I  should  not  take  things  as  quietly 
as  he  does.  Well,  you  see,  there  are  consolations  all  round." 

The  firing  had  ceased  at  four  o'clock,  and  until  late  that 
night  a  large  portion  of  the  force  were  occupied  in  searching 
the  ground  that  had  been  traversed,  burying  the  dead,  and 
carrying  the  wounded  of  both  nationalities  down  into  the 
hospital  that  had  been  established  at  Rolica.  Sir  Arthur 
determined  to  march  at  daybreak,  so  as  to  secure  the  passes 
through  Torres  Vedras ;  but  in  the  evening  a  messenger 
arrived  with  the  news  that  Anstruther  and  Acland's  division, 
with  a  large  fleet  of  store-ships,  were  off  the  coast.  The  dan- 
gerous nature  of  the  coast,  and  the  certainty  that,  should  a 
gale  spring  up,  a  large  proportion  of  the  ships  would  be 
wrecked,  rendered  it  absolutely  necessary  to  secure  the  disem- 
* 


82  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

barkation  of  the  troops  at  once.  The  next  morning,  there- 
fore, he  only  marched  ten  miles  to  Lourinha,  and  thence 
advanced  to  Vimiera,  eight  miles  farther,  where  he  covered 
the  disembarkation  of  the  troops. 

The  next  day  Anstruther's  brigade  were  with  difficulty, 
and  some  loss,  landed  on  an  open  sandy  beach,  and  on  the 
night  of  the  2oth  Acland's  brigade  were  disembarked  at 
Maciera  Bay.  The  reinforcements  were  most  opportune,  for 
already  the  British  had  proof  that  Junot  was  preparing  a 
heavy  blow.  That  general  had,  indeed,  lost  no  time  in 
taking  steps  to  bring  on  a  decisive  battle.  While  the  British 
were  marching  to  Lourinha,  he  had,  with  Loison's  division, 
crossed  the  line  of  Laborde's  retreat,  and  on  the  same  even- 
ing reached  Torres  Vedras,  where  the  next  day  he  was  joined 
by  Laborde,  and  on  the  2oth  by  his  reserve.  In  the  mean- 
time he  sent  forward  his  cavalry,  which  scoured  the  country 
round  the  rear  of  the  British  camp,  and  prevented  the  gen- 
eral from  obtaining  any  information  whatever  as  to  his  posi- 
tion or  intentions. 

The  arrival  of  Acland's  brigade  on  the  night  of  the  2oth 
increased  the  fighting  strength  of  the  army  to  16,000  men, 
with  eighteen  guns,  exclusive  of  Trant's  Portuguese,  while 
Sir  Arthur  judged  that  Junot  could  not  put  more  than  14,000 
in  the  field.  Previous  to  leaving  Mondego  he  had  sent  to 
Sir  Harry  Burrard  notice  of  his  plan  of  campaign,  advising 
him  to  let  Sir  John  Moore,  on  his  arrival  with  5,000  men, 
disembark  there  and  march  on  Santarem,  where  he  would 
protect  the  left  of  the  army  in  its  advance,  block  the  line 
of  the  Tagus,  and  menace  the  French  line  of  communica- 
tion between  Lisbon  and  the  important  fortress  of  Elvas. 
The  ground  at  Santarem  was  suited  for  defence,  and  Moore 
could  be  joined  with  Friere,  who  was  still,  with  his  5,000 
men,  at  Leirya. 


ROLICA   AND   VIMIERA  83 

The  general  intended  to  make  a  forced  march,  keeping 
by  the  sea-road.  A  strong  advance  guard  would  press  for- 
ward and  occupy  the  formidable  position  of  Mathia  in  the 
rear  of  the  hills.  With  the  main  body  he  intended  to  seize 
some  heights  a  few  miles  behind  Torres  Vedras,  and  to  cut 
the  road  between  that  place  and  Montechique,  on  the  direct 
road  to  Lisbon,  and  so  interpose  between  Junot  and  the  capi- 
tal. At  twelve  o'clock  that  night  Sir  Arthur  was  roused  by 
a  messenger,  who  reported  that  Junot,  with  20,000  men,  was 
advancing  to  attack  him,  and  was  but  an  hour's  march  dis- 
tant. He  disbelieved  the  account  of  the  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  had  no  doubt  but  that  the  messenger's  fears  had  exag- 
gerated the  closeness  of  his  approach.  He  therefore  con- 
tented himself  with  sending  orders  to  the  pickets  to  use 
redoubled  vigilance,  and  at  daylight  the  whole  British  force 
was,  as  usual,  under  arms. 

Nothing  could  have  suited  the  British  commander  better 
than  that  Junot  should  attack  him,  for  the  position  of  Vimiera 
was  strong.  The  town  was  situated  in  a  valley,  through 
which  the  little  river  Maciera  flows.  In  this  were  placed  the 
commissariat  stores,  while  the  cavalry  and  Portuguese  were 
on  a  small  plain  behind  the  village.  In  front  of  Vimiera  was 
a  steep  hill  with  a  flat  top,  commanding  the  ground  to  the 
south  and  east  for  a  considerable  distance.  Fane's  and 
Anstruther's  infantry,  with  six  guns,  were  posted  here. 
Fane's  left  rested  on  a  churchyard,  blocking  a  road  which 
led  round  the  declivity  of  the  hill  to  the  town.  Behind  this 
position,  and  separated  by  the  river  and  road,  was  a  hill 
extending  in  a  half-moon  to  the  sea. 

Five  brigades  of  infantry,  forming  the  British  right,  oc- 
cupied this  mountain.  On  the  other  side  of  the  ravine 
formed  by  the  river,  just  beyond  Vimiera,  was  another  strong 
and  narrow  range  of  heights.  There  was  no  water  to  be 


$4  WITH   MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

found  on  this  ridge,  and  only  the  4oth  Regiment  and  some 
pickets  were  stationed  here.  It  was  vastly  better  to  be 
attacked  in  such  a  position  than  to  be  compelled  to  storm  the 
heights  of  Torres  Vedras,  held  by  a  strong  French  army. 
The  advance  of  the  French  was  fortunate  in  another  respect. 
On  the  2oth  Sir  Harry  Burrard  arrived  in  the  bay  on  board 


BATTLE  OF  VIM  I  ERA. 
English  Miles 


Walter  &Boutallsc. 


a  frigate,  and  Sir  Arthur,  thus  superseded,  went  on  board  to 
report  the  position  of  affairs,  renewing  his  recommendation 
that  Sir  John  Moore  should  land  at  Mondego  and  march  to 
Santarem.  Sir  Harry  Burrard,  however,  had  already  deter- 
mined that  his  force  should  land  at  Maciera,  and  he  refused 


ROLICA    AND    VIMIfcRA  85 

to  permit  Sir  Arthur's  plan  of  advance  to  be  carried  out,  and 
ordered  that  no  offensive  step  should  be  undertaken  until  Sir 
John  Moore  had  landed. 

The  advance  of  Junot,  happily,  left  Wellesley  at  liberty  to 
act ;  and  disposing  his  force  in  order  of  battle,  he  awaited  the 
appearance  of  the  enemy.  It  was  not  until  seven  o'clock  that 
a  cloud  of  dust  was  seen  rising  above  the  opposite  ridge,  and 
an  hour  later  a  body  of  cavalry  crowned  the  height  and  sent 
out  a  swarm  of  scouts  in  every  direction.  Almost  imme- 
diately afterwards  a  body  of  cavalry  and  infantry  were  seen 
marching  along  the  road  from  Torres  Vedras  to  Lourinha, 
threatening  to  turn  the  left  of  the  British  position.  As  the 
British  right  was  not  menaced,  four  of  the  brigades  on  the 
hill  on  that  flank  were  ordered  to  cross  the  valley  and  to  take 
post  with  the  4oth  Regiment  for  the  defence  of  the  ridge. 

This  movement,  being  covered  by  the  Vimiera  heights,  was 
unseen  by  the  enemy ;  the  5th  brigade  and  the  Portuguese 
were  on  a  second  ridge  behind  the  other,  and  thus  assisted 
to  cover  the  English  left  and  protect  its  rear.  The  ground 
between  the  crest  on  which  the  French  were  first  seen  and  our 
position  was  so  thickly  covered  with  wood,  that  after  the 
enemy  had  descended  into  it  no  correct  view  of  their  move- 
ments could  be  obtained. 

Junot  had  intended  to  fall  upon  the  English  army  at  day- 
break, but  the  defiles  through  which  the  force  had  to  pass  had 
delayed  the  march,  as  had  the  fatigue  of  the  troops,  who  had 
been  marching  all  night.  From  the  height  from  which  he 
obtained  a  view  of  the  British  position  it  seemed  to  him  that 
the  British  centre  and  right  were  held  in  great  strength,  and 
that  the  left  was  almost  unguarded.  He  therefore  determined 
to  attack  upon  that  flank,  which,  indeed,  was  in  any  case  the 
most  favourable,  as,  were  he  successful  there,  he  would  cut  the 
line  of  the  British  retreat  and  pen  them  up  on  the  sea-shore. 


86  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

The  march  of  the  four  brigades  through  Vimiera  to  take 
post  on  the  British  left  was  hidden  from  him,  and  he  divided 
his  force  into  two  heavy  columns,  one  of  which  was  to  attack 
the  British  left,  and  having  mounted  the  height  to  sweep  all 
before  it  into  the  town  ;  the  other  was  to  attack  Vimiera  Hill, 
held  by  Anstruther  and  Fane. 

Brennier  commanded  the  attack  against  the  left,  Laborde 
against  the  centre,  Loison  followed  at  a  short  distance.  Kel- 
lermann  commanded  the  reserve  of  Grenadiers.  Unfortu- 
nately for  the  success  of  Junot's  plan,  he  was  unaware  of  the 
fact  that  along  the  foot  of  the  ridge  on  the  British  left  ran  a 
deep  ravine,  that  rendered  it  very  difficult  to  attack  except  at 
the  extreme  end  of  the  position. 

"  We  are  going  to  have  our  share  of  the  fun  to-day," 
O'Grady  said,  as  he  stood  with  a  group  of  officers,  watching 
the  wooded  plain  and  the  head  of  Laborde' s  column  de- 
bouching from  among  the  trees,  and  moving  towards  the 
hill. 

There  was  a  general  murmur  of  satisfaction  from  the  officers, 
for  although  they  had  all  laughed  at  O'Grady 's  exaggerated 
regrets  at  their  not  being  engaged  at  Rolica,  all  were  some- 
what sore  at  the  regiment  having  had  no  opportunity  of  dis- 
tinguishing itself  on  that  occasion.  No  sooner  had  the 
column  cleared  the  wood  than  the  six  guns  posted  with  Fane's 
and  Anstruther' s  brigade  at  once  opened  fire  upon  it.  It  had 
been  intended  that  Brennier 's  attack  should  begin  at  the  same 
time  as  Laborde' s,  but  that  advance  had  been  stopped  by  the 
defile,  which  was  so  steep  and  so  encumbered  with  rocks, 
brushwood,  and  trees,  that  his  troops  had  the  most  extreme 
difficulty  in  making  their  way  across.  This  enabled  Acland, 
whose  brigade  was  in  the  act  of  mounting  the  heights  from 
the  town,  to  turn  his  battery  against  Laborde's  column, 
which  was  thus  smitten  with  a  shower  of  grape  both  in  front 


ROLICA   AND    VIMIERA  87 

and  flank,  and  to  this  was  added  a  heavy  musketry  fire  from 
the  three  brigades. 

"  Take  it  easy,  lads,  take  it  easy,"  the  colonel  said,  as  he 
walked  up  and  down  the  ranks.  "  They  are  hardly  in  range 
yet,  and  you  had  better  keep  your  ammunition  until  they  get 
to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  then  you  can  blaze  away  as  hard  as 
you  like. ' ' 

Junot,  receiving  news  of  the  arrest  of  Brennier's  column  and 
the  obstacles  that  he  had  encountered,  and  seeing  that  the 
whole  British  fire  was  now  directed  against  Laborde,  ordered 
Loison  to  support  that  general  with  one  brigade,  and  directed 
Solignac  to  turn  the  ravine  in  which  Brennier  was  entangled 
and  to  fall  upon  the  left  extremity  of  the  enemy's  line. 

Fane  had  been  given  discretionary  power  to  call  up  the 
reserve  artillery  posted  in  the  village  behind  him,  and  seeing 
so  strong  an  attack  against  his  position  about  to  be  made 
called  it  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill. 

Loison  and  Laborde  now  formed  their  troops  into  three 
columns  of  attack.  One  advanced  against  that  part  of  the  hill 
held  by  Anstruther's  brigade,  another  endeavoured  to  pene- 
trate by  the  road  past  the  church  on  Fane's  extreme  left, 
while  the  main  column,  represented  by  a  large  number  of  the 
best  troops,  advanced  against  the  centre  of  the  position. 
The  reserve  artillery,  and  the  battery  originally  there,  opened 
a  terrible  fire,  which  was  aided  by  the  musketry  of  the  infan- 
try. But  with  loud  shouts  the  French  pressed  forward,  and 
although  already  shaken  by  the  terrible  fire  of  the  artillery, 
and  breathless  from  their  exertions,  they  gained  the  crest  of 
the  hill.  Before  they  could  re-form  a  tremendous  volley  was 
poured  into  them,  and  with  a  wild  yell  the  Mayo  Fusiliers 
and  the  5oth  charged  them  in  front  and  flank  and  hurled  them 
down  the  hill. 

In  the  meantime,  Anstruther,  having  repulsed  the  less  serious 


88  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

attack  made  on  him,  detached  the  43d  to  check  the  enemy's 
column  moving  through  the  churchyard,  and  prevented  their 
advance  until  Kellermann  brought  up  a  force  of  Grenadiers, 
who,  running  forward  with  loud  shouts,  drove  back  the 
advanced  companies  of  the  43d.  The  guns  on  the  heights 
were  turned  upon  them  with  great  effect,  and  those  of  Acland's 
and  Bowe's  brigades  on  the  left  of  the  ridge  took  them  in  flank 
and  brought  them  almost  to  a  stand-still ;  then  the  43d,  in  one 
mass,  charged  furiously  down  on  the  column,  and  after  a 
fierce  struggle  drove  them  back  in  confusion. 

The  French  attacks  on  this  side  had  now  completely  failed, 
and  Colonel  Taylor,  riding  out  with  his  little  body  of  cavalry, 
dashed  out  into  the  confused  mass,  slaying  and  scattering  it. 
Margaron,  who  commanded  a  superior  force  of  French  cavalry, 
led  them  down  through  their  infantry,  and  falling  upon  the 
British  force  killed  Taylor  and  cut  half  his  squadron  to  pieces. 
Kellermann  took  post  with  his  reserve  of  Grenadiers  in  a  pine- 
wood  in  advance  of  the  wooded  country  through  which  they 
had  advanced,  while  Margaron's  horsemen  maintained  a  position 
covering  the  retreat  of  the  fugitives  into  the  wood.  At  this 
moment  Solignac  reached  his  assigned  position  and  encountered 
Ferguson's  brigade,  which  was  on  the  extreme  left  of  the 
division,  and  was  taken  by  surprise  on  finding  a  force  equal 
to  his  own  where  he  had  expected  to  find  the  hill  untenanted. 
Ferguson  was  drawn  up  in  three  lines  on  a  steep  declivity. 
A  heavy  artillery  fire  opened  upon  the  French  as  soon  as  they 
were  seen,  while  the  5th  brigade  and  the  Portuguese  marched 
along  the  next  ridge  and  threatened  the  enemy's  rear. 

Ferguson  did  not  wait  to  be  attacked,  but  marched  his  brigade 
against  the  French,  who,  falling  fast  under  the  musketry  and 
artillery  fire  which  had  swept  their  lines,  fell  back  fighting 
to  the  farthest  edge  of  the  ridge.  Solignac  was  carried  off 
severely  wounded,  and  his  brigade  was  cut  off  from  its  line  of 


ROLICA    AND    VIMIERA  83 

retreat  and  driven  into  a  low  valley,  in  which  stood  the  village 
of  Peranza,  leaving  six  guns  behind  them.  Ferguson  left  two 
regiments  to  guard  these  guns,  and  with  the  rest  of  his  force 
pressed  hard  upon  the  French;  but  at  this  moment  Brennier, 
who  had  at  last  surmounted  the  difficulties  that  had  detained 
him,  fell  upon  the  two  regiments  suddenly,  and  retook  the  guns. 

The  82d  and  7ist,  speedily  recovered  from  their  surprise, 
rallied  on  some  higher  ground,  and  then,  after  pouring  in  a 
tremendous  volley  of  musketry,  charged  with  a  mighty  shout 
and  overthrew  the  French  brigade  and  recovered  the  guns. 
Brennier  himself  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner,  and  Fergu- 
son having  completely  broken  up  the  brigade  opposed  to  him 
would  have  forced  the  greater  part  of  Solignac's  troops  to 
surrender,  if  he  had  not  been  required  to  halt  by  an  unexpected 
order.  The  French  veterans  speedily  rallied,  and  in  admirable 
order,  protected  by  their  cavalry,  marched  off  to  join  their 
comrades  who  had  been  defeated  in  their  attack  upon  the 
British  centre. 

It  was  now  twelve  o'clock;  the  victory  was  complete;  thir- 
teen guns  had  been  captured.  Neither  the  ist,  5th,  nor  Portu- 
guese brigades  had  fired  a  shot,  and  the  4th  and  8th  had  suf- 
fered very  little,  therefore  Sir  Arthur  resolved  with  these  five 
brigades  to  push  Junot  closely,  while  Hill,  Anstruther,  and 
Fane  were  to  march  forward  as  far  as  Torres  Vedras,  and,  push- 
ing on  to  Montechique,  cut  him  off  from  Lisbon.  Had  this 
operation  been  executed  Junot  would  probably  have  lost  all 
his  artillery,  and  seven  thousand  stragglers  would  have  been 
driven  to  seek  shelter  under  the  guns  of  Elvas,  from  which 
fortress,  however,  he  would  have  been  cut  off  had  Moore  landed 
as  Sir  Arthur  wished  at  Mondego.  Unhappily,  however,  the 
latter  was  no  longer  commander-in-chief.  Sir  Harry  Burrard, 
who  had  been  present  at  the  action,  had  not  interfered  with 
the  arrangements,  but  as  soon  as  victory  was  won  he  assumed 


90  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

command,  sent  an  order  arresting  Ferguson's  career  of  victory, 
and  forbade  all  further  offensive  operations  until  the  arrival  of 
Sir  John  Moore. 

The  adjutant-general  and  quartermaster  supported  his  views, 
and  Sir  Arthur's  earnest  representations  were  disregarded.  Sir 
Arthur's  plan  would  probably  have  been  crowned  with  success, 
but  it  was  not  without  peril.  The  French  had  rallied  with 
extraordinary  rapidity  under  the  protection  of  their  cavalry. 
The  British  artillery-carriages  were  so  shaken  as  to  be  almost 
unfit  for  service,  the  horses  insufficient  in  number  and  wretched 
in  quality,  the  commissariat  waggons  in  the  greatest  con- 
fusion, and  the  hired  Portuguese  vehicles  had  made  off  in 
every  direction.  The  British  cavalry  were  totally  destroyed, 
and  two  French  regiments  had  just  made  their  appearance 
on  the  ridge  behind  the  wood  where  Junot's  troops  were  re- 
forming. 

Sir  Harry  Burrard,  with  a  caution  characteristic  of  age, 
refused  to  adopt  Wellesley's  bold  plan.  A  great  success  had 
been  gained,  and  that  would  have  been  imperilled  by  Junot's 
falling  with  all  his  force  upon  one  or  other  of  the  British 
columns.  Sir  Arthur  himself,  at  a  later  period,  when  a  com- 
mission was  appointed  by  Parliament  to  inquire  into  the 
circumstances,  admitted  that,  though  he  still  believed  that 
success  would  have  attended  his  own  plan,  he  considered  that 
Sir  Harry  Burrard's  decision  was  fully  justified  on  military 
grounds. 

Junot  took  foil  advantage  of  the  unexpected  cessation  of 
hostilities.  He  re-formed  his  broken  army  on  the  arrival  of 
the  two  regiments,  which  brought  it  up  to  its  original  strength; 
and  then,  covered  by  his  cavalry,  marched  in  good  order  until 
darkness  fell.  He  had  regained  the  command  of  the  passes  of 
Torres  Vedras,  and  the  two  armies  occupied  precisely  the  same 
positions  that  they  had  done  on  the  previous  evening. 


ROLICA   AND   VIMIERA  "  91 

One  general,  thirteen  guns,  and  several  hundred  prisoners 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  and  Junot's  total  loss  far  ex- 
ceeded that  of  the  British,  which  was  comparatively  small.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  fight  the  British  force  was  more  than 
two  thousand  larger  than  that  of  the  French,  but  of  these  only 
a  half  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  battle,  while  every  man 
in  Junot's  army  had  been  sent  forward  to  the  attack. 

Sir  Harry  Burrard's  command  was  a  short  one,  for  on  the 
following  morning  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  superseded  him.  Thus 
in  twenty-four  hours  a  battle  had  been  fought  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  had  been  three  times  changed,  a  striking 
proof  of  the  abject  folly  and  incapacity  of  the  British  ministry 
of  the  day. 

Two  of  these  three  commanders  arrived  fresh  on  the  scene 
without  any  previous  knowledge  of  the  situation,  and  all  three 
differed  from  each  other  in  their  views  regarding  the  general 
plan  of  the  campaign ;  the  last  two  were  men  without  any 
previous  experience  in  the  handling  of  large  bodies  of  troops, 
and  without  any  high  military  reputation  ;  while  the  man  dis- 
placed had  already  shown  the  most  brilliant  capacity  in  India, 
and  was  universally  regarded  as  the  best  general  in  the  British 
service.  Dalrymple  adopted  neither  the  energetic  action  ad- 
vised by  Sir  Arthur  nor  the  inactivity  supported  by  Burrard, 
but,  taking  a  middle  course,  decided  to  advance  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  but  not  to  go  far  until  Sir  John  Moore  landed  at 
Maciera. 

Sir  Arthur  was  strongly  opposed  to  this  policy.  He  pointed 
out  that  there  were  at  present  on  shore  but  seven  or  eight  days' 
provisions  for  the  force  at  Vimiera.  No  further  supplies  could 
be  obtained  in  the  country,  and  at  any  moment  a  gale  might 
arise  and  scatter  or  destroy  the  fleet,  from  which  alone  they 
could  draw  supplies  during  their  advance.  The  debate  on  the 
subject  was  continuing  when  the  French  general,  Kellermann, 


92  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

bearing  a  flag  of  truce  and  escorted  by  a  strong  body  of  cavalry, 
arrived  at  the  outposts  and  desired  a  conference.  The  news 
was  surprising,  indeed.  Junot's  force  was  practically  unshaken. 
He  possessed  all  the  strong  places  in  Portugal,  and  could  have 
received  support  in  a  short  time  from  the  French  forces  in  Spain. 

Upon  the  other  hand,  the  position  of  the  British,  even  after 
winning  a  victory,  was  by  no  means  a  satisfactory  one ;  they 
had  already  learnt  that  it  was  useless  to  rely  in  the  slightest 
degree  upon  Portuguese  promises  or  Portuguese  assistance, 
and  that,  even  in  the  matter  of  provisions  and  carriage,  their 
commander-in-chief  expected  to  be  maintained  by  those  who 
had  come  to  aid  in  freeing  the  country  of  the  French,  instead 
of  these  receiving  any  help  from  him.  In  carriage  the  British 
army  was  wholly  deficient ;  of  cavalry  they  had  none.  When 
Sir  John  Moore  landed  there  would  be  but  four  days'  pro- 
visions on  shore  for  the  army,  and  were  the  fleet  driven  off  by 
a  gale,  starvation  would  at  once  threaten  them. 

The  gallantry  with  which  the  French  had  fought  in  both 
engagements,  the  skill  with  which  they  had  been  handled,  and 
above  all,  the  quickness  and  steadiness  with  which,  after  defeat, 
they  had  closed  up  their  ranks  and  drawn  off  in  excellent  order, 
showed  that  the  task  of  expelling  such  troops  from  the  country 
would,  even  if  all  went  well  in  other  respects,  be  a  very  for- 
midable one,  and  the  offer  of  a  conference  was  therefore  at 
once  embraced  by  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple. 

Kellermann  was  admitted  to  the  camp.  His  mission  was  to 
demand  a  cessation  of  arms  in  order  that  Junot  might,  under 
certain  conditions,  evacuate  Portugal.  The  advantage  of 
freeing  the  country  from  the  French  without  further  fighting 
was  so  evident  that  Sir  Hew  at  once  agreed  to  discuss  the 
terms,  and  took  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  into  his  counsels.  The 
latter  quite  agreed  with  the  policy  by  which  a  strong  French 
army  would  be  quietly  got  out  of  the  country,  in  which  it  held 


ROLICA    AND    VIMIERA  93 

all  the  military  posts  and  strong  positions.  A  great  moral 
effect  would  be  produced,  and  the  whole  resources  of  Portugal 
would  then  be  available  for  operations  in  Spain. 

By  the  afternoon  the  main  points  of  the  convention  had 
been  generally  agreed  upon.  The  French  were  to  evacuate 
Portugal,  and  were  to  be  conveyed  in  the  English  vessels  to 
France  with  their  property,  public  or  private.  There  was  to 
be  no  persecution  of  persons  who  had  been  the  adherents  of 
France  during  the  occupation  ;  the  only  serious  difference  that 
arose  was  as  to  the  Russian  fleet  in  the  Tagus.  Kellermann 
proposed  to  have  it  guaranteed  from  capture,  with  leave  to 
return  to  the  Baltic.  This,  however,  was  refused,  and  the 
question  was  referred  to  Admiral  Cotton,  who,  as  chief  repre- 
sentative of  England,  would  have  to  approve  of  the  treaty 
before  it  could  be  signed. 

Kellermann  returned  to  Lisbon  with  Colonel  Murray,  the 
quartermaster-general,  and  after  three  days'  negotiations  the 
treaty  was  finally  concluded,  the  Russian  difficulty  being 
settled  by  their  vessels  being  handed  over  to  the  British,  and 
the  crew  transported  in  English  ships  to  the  Baltic.  The 
convention  was,  under  the  circumstances,  unquestionably  a 
most  advantageous  one.  It  would  have  cost  long  and  severe 
fighting  and  the  siege  of  several  very  strong  fortresses  before 
the  French  could  have  been  turned  out  of  Portugal.  Heavy 
siege-guns  would  have  been  necessary  for  these  operations.  At 
the  very  shortest  calculation  a  year  would  have  been  wasted, 
very  heavy  loss  of  life  incurred,  and  an  immense  expenditure 
of  money  before  the  result,  now  obtained  so  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly,  had  been  arrived  at. 

Nevertheless,  the  news  of  the  convention  was  received  with 
a  burst  of  popular  indignation  in  England,  where  the  public, 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  difficulty  of  the  situation,  had  formed 
the  most  extravagant  hopes,  founded  on  the  two  successes 


94:  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

obtained  by  their  troops.  The  result  was  that  a  commission 
was  appointed  to  investigate  the  whole  matter.  The  three 
English  generals  were  summoned  to  England  to  attend  before 
it,  and  so  gross  were  the  misrepresentations  and  lies  by  which 
the  public  had  been  deceived  by  the  agents  of  the  unscrupulous 
and  ambitious  Bishop  of  Oporto  and  his  confederates,  that  it 
was  even  proposed  ^to  bring  the  generals  to  trial  who  had  in 
so  short  a  time  and  with  such  insufficient  means  freed  Portugal 
from  the  French.  Sir  John  Moore  remained  in  command  of 
the  troops  in  Portugal. 


CHAPTER   VI 

A   PAUSE 

THE  Mayo  Fusiliers  had  suffered  their  full  proportion  of 
losses  at  the  battle  of  Vimiera.  Major  Harrison  had 
been  killed,  Captain  O'Connor  had  been  severely  wounded,  as 
his  company  had  been  thrown  forward  as  skirmishers  on  the 
face  of  the  hill,  and  a  third  of  their  number  had  fallen  when 
Laborde's  great  column  had  driven  them  in  as  it  charged  up 
the  ascent.  Terence's  father  had  been  brought  to  the  ground 
by  a  ball  that  struck  him  near  the  hip ;  had  been  trampled  on 
by  the  French  as  they  passed  up  over  him,  and  again  on  their 
retreat ;  and  he  was  insensible  when,  as  soon  as  the  enemy 
retired,  a  party  was  sent  down  to  bring  up  the  wounded.  By 
thedeath  of  themajor,  O'Connor,  as  senior  captain,  now  attained 
that  rank,  but  the  doctor  pronounced  that  it  would  be  a  long 
time  before  he  would  be  able  to  take  up  his  duties.  Another 
captain  and  three  subalterns  had  been  killed,  and  several  other 
officers  had  been  wounded.  Among  these  was  O'Grady,  whose 
left  arm  had  been  carried  away  below  the  elbow  by  a  round 


I  SHOULD  NOT  HAVE  MINDED  BEING  HIT,  FATHER,    IF  YOU 
HAD  ESCAPED." 


A   PAUSE  95 

shot.  As  Terence  was  in  the  other  wing  of  the  regiment  he 
did  not  hear  of  his  father's  wounds  until  after  the  battle  was 
over,  and  on  the  order  being  given  that  there  was  to  be  no 
pursuit  the  regiment  fell  out  of  its  ranks.  As  soon  as  the 
news  reached  him  he  obtained  permission  to  go  down  to 
Vimiera,  where  the  church  and  other  buildings  had  been  turned 
into  temporary  hospitals,  to  which  the  seriously  wounded  had 
been  carried  as  soon  as  the  French  retired.  Hurrying  down, 
he  soon  learned  where  the  wounded  of  General  Fane's  brigade 
had  been  taken.  He  found  the  two  regimental  doctors  hard 
at  work.  O'  Flaherty  came  up  to  Terence  as  soon  as  he  saw  him 
enter  the  barn  that  had  been  hastily  converted  into  a  hospital 
by  covering  the  floor  deeply  with  straw. 

"I  think  your  father  will  do,  Terence,  my  boy,"  he  said, 
cheeringly;  "  we  have  just  got  the  bullet  out  of  his  leg,  and 
we  hope  that  it  has  not  touched  the  bone,  though  we  cannot 
be  altogether  sure.  We  shall  know  more  about  that  when  we 
have  got  through  the  rough  of  our  work.  Still,  we  have  every 
hope  that  he  will  do  well.  He  is  next  the  door  at  the  further 
end ;  we  put  him  there  to  let  him  get  as  much  fresh  air  as 
possible,  for,  by  the  powers,  this  place  is  like  a  furnace !  " 

Captain  O'Connor  was  lying  on  his  back,  the  straw  having 
been  arranged  so  as  to  raise  his  shoulders  and  head.  He 
smiled  when  Terence  came  up  to  him. 

"  Thank  God  you  have  got  safely  through  it,  lad  !  " 

"I  should  not  have  minded  being  hit,  father,  if  you  had 
escaped,"  Terence  said,  with  difficulty  suppressing  a  sob,  while 
in  spite  of  his  efforts  the  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks. 

"  The  doctors  say  I  shall  pull  through  all  right.  I  hear 
poor  Harrison  is  killed  ;  he  was  a  good  fellow.  Though  it  has 
given  me  my  step,  I  am  heartily  sorry.  So  we  have  thrashed 
them,  lad ;  that  is  a  comfort.  I  was  afraid  when  they  went 
up  the  hill  that  they  might  be  too  much  for  us,  and  I  was 


96  WITH    MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

delighted  when  I  heard  them  coming  tearing  down  again, 
though  I  had  not  much  time  to  think  about  it.  They  had 
stepped  over  me  pretty  much  as  they  went  up,  but  they  had 
no  time  to  pick  their  way  as  they  came  back  again,  and  after 
one  or  two  had  jumped  on  me,  I  remembered  no  more  about 
it  until  I  found  myself  here  with  O' Flaherty  probing  the 
wound  and  hurting  me  horribly.  I  am  bruised  all  over,  and 
I  wonder  some  of  my  ribs  are  not  broken ;  at  present  they 
hurt  me  a  good  deal  more  than  this  wound  in  the  hip.  Still, 
that  is  only  an  affair  of  a  day  or  two.  Who  have  been  killed 
besides  the  major  ?  " 

"  Dorman,  Phillips,  and  Henderson  are  killed.  O'Grady  is 
wounded,  I  hear,  and  so  are  Saunders,  Byrne,  and  Sullivan ; 
there  have  been  some  others  hit,  but  not  seriously ;  they  did 
not  have  to  fall  out." 

"  O'Grady  is  over  on  the  other  side  somewhere,  Terence  ;  I 
heard  his  voice  just  now.  Go  and  see  where  he  is  hurt." 

O'Grady  was  sitting  up  with  his  back  to  the  wall ;  the  sleeves 
of  his  jacket  and  shirt  had  been  cut  off,  and  a  tourniquet  was 
on  his  arm  just  above  the  elbow. 

"Well,  Terence,"  he  said,  cheerfully,  "I  am  in  luck,  you 
see." 

"  I  can't  see  any  luck  about  it,  O'Grady." 

"  Why,  man,  it  might  have  been  my  right  arm,  and  where 
should  I  have  been  then  ?  As  to  the  left  arm,  one  can  do 
without  it  very  well.  Then,  again,  it  is  lucky  that  the  ball  hit 
me  below  the  elbow  and  not  above  it.  O' Flaherty  says  they 
will  be  able  to  make  a  dacent  job  of  it,  and  that  after  a  bit 
they  will  be  able  to  fit  a  wooden  arm  on,  so  that  I  can  screw 
a  fork  into  it.  The  worst  of  it  at  present  is,  that  I  have  a 
terrible  thirst  on  me,  and  nothing  but  water  have  they  given 
me,  a  thing  that  I  have  not  drunk  for  years.  They  have  tied 
up  the  arteries,  and  they  are  going  presently  to  touch  up  the 


A    PAUSE  97 

loose  ends  with  hot  pitch  to  stop  the  bleeding  altogether.  It 
is  not  a  pleasant  job ;  they  have  done  it  to  three  or  four  of  the 
men  already.  One  of  them  stood  it  well,  but  the  others  cried 
a  thousand  murders.  O'  Flaherty  has  promised  me  a  drink  of 
whisky  and  water  before  they  do  it,  and  just  at  present  I  feel 
as  if  I  would  let  them  burn  all  my  limbs  at  the  same  price.  It 
is  sorry  I  am,  Terence,  to  hear  that  your  father  is  hit  so  hard, 
but  O' Flaherty  says  he  will  get  through  it  all  right.  Well,  he 
will  get  his  majority,  though  I  am  mightily  sorry  that  Harri- 
son is  killed  ;  he  was  a  good  boy,  though  he  was  an  English- 
man. Ah,  Terence,  my  heart's  sore  when  I  think  what  I  said 
that  evening  after  the  fight  at  Rolica !  I  did  not  mean  it  alto- 
gether, but  the  words  come  home  to  me  now.  It  is  not  for 
meself  but  for  the  poor  boys  that  have  gone.  It  was  just 
thoughtlessness,  but  I  would  give  me  other  arm  not  to  have 
said  those  words." 

"  I  know  that  you  did  not  mean  it,  O'Grady,  and  we  were 
all  feeling  sorry  that  the  regiment  had  not  had  a  chance  to  be 
in  the  thick  of  it." 

"Here  they  are,  coming  this  way  with  the  pitch  kettle. 
You  had  better  get  away,  lad,  before  they  begin." 

Terence  was  glad  to  follow  the  advice,  and  hurried  out  of 
the  barn  and  walked  three  or  four  hundred  yards  away.  He 
was  very  fond  of  O'Grady,  who  had  always  been  very  kind  to 
him,  and  who  was  thoroughly  warm-hearted  and  a  good  fel- 
low, in  spite  of  his  eccentricities.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he 
returned.  Just  as  he  was  entering,  O' Flaherty  came  out  of 
the  door. 

' '  I  must  have  a  breath  of  fresh  air,  Terence, ' '  he  said. 
"  The  heat  is  stifling  in  there,  and  though  we  are  working  in 
our  shirt-sleeves  we  are  just  as  damp  as  if  we  had  been  thrown 
into  a  pond." 

"  Has  O'Grady's  arm  been  seared?  " 
7 


98  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

"  Yes,  and  he  stood  it  well ;  not  a  word  did  he  say  until  it 
was  over.  Then  he  said,  '  Give  me  another  drink,  O'Flah- 
erty;  it's  wake-like  I  feel.'  Before  I  could  get  the  cup  to 
his  lips  he  went  off  in  a  faint.  He  has  come  round  now  and 
has  had  a  drink  of  weak  whisky  and  water,  and  is  lying  quiet 
and  composed.  It  is  better  that  you  should  not  go  near  him 
at  present.  I  hope  that  he  will  drop  off  to  sleep  presently. 
I  have  just  given  a  glance  at  your  father,  and  he  is  nearly,  if 
not  quite,  asleep  too,  so  you  had  better  leave  them  now  and 
look  in  again  this  evening.  Now  that  the  affair  is  over,  and 
there  is  time  to  go  round,  they  will  clear  out  some  houses 
and  get  things  more  comfortable.  The  principal  medical  of- 
ficer was  round  here  half  an  hour  ago.  He  said  they  would 
fit  up  rooms  for  the  officers  at  once,  and  I  will  have  your 
father,  O'Grady,  and  Saunders  carried  up  on  stretchers  and 
put  into  a  room  together.  If  they  can  bear  the  moving  it 
will  be  all  in  their  favour,  for  it  will  be  cooler  there  than  in 
this  oven  of  a  place.  I  hear  the  church  has  been  requisi- 
tioned, and  that  the  worst  cases  among  our  men  will  be  taken 
there." 

In  comparison  with  the  loss  of  the  French  that  of  the  Brit- 
ish had  been  very  small.  From  their  position  on  command- 
ing heights  they  had  suffered  but  little  from  the  fire  of  the 
French  artillery,  and  the  casualties  were  almost  confined 
to  Fane's  brigade,  the  43d  Regiment,  Anstruther's,  and 
the  two  regiments  of  Ferguson's  brigade  that  had  been 
attacked  by  Brennier,  and  before  nightfall  the  whole  of  the 
wounded  had  been  brought  in  and  attended  to,  the  hospitals 
arranged,  and  the  men  far  more  comfortably  bestowed  than  in 
the  temporary  quarters  taken  up  during  the  heat  of  the  con- 
flict. As  there  was  no  prospect  of  an  immediate  movement, 
the  soldier  servants  of  the  wounded  officers  had  been  excused 
from  military  duty  and  told  off  to  attend  to  them,  and  when 


A  PAUSE  90 

Terence  went  down  in  the  evening  he  found  his  father, 
O'Grady,  and  Saunders — the  latter  a  young  lieutenant — com- 
fortably lodged  in  a  large  room  in  which  three  hospital  beds 
had  been  placed.  O'Grady  had  quite  recovered  his  usual 
good  spirits. 

"  Don't  draw  such  a  long  face,  Terence,"  he  said,  as  the 
lad  entered;  "we  are  all  going  on  well.  Your  father  has 
been  bandaged  all  over  the  chest  and  body,  and  is  able  to 
breathe  more  comfortably  ;  as  for  me,  except  that  I  feel  as  if 
somebody  were  twisting  a  red-hot  needle  about  in  my  arm,  I 
am  as  right  as  possible,  and  Saunders  is  doing  first-rate.  The 
doctors  thought  at  first  that  he  had  got  a  ball  through  his 
body;  after  they  got  him  here  they  had  time  to  examine  him 
carefully,  and  they  find  that  it  has  just  run  along  the  ribs  and 
gone  out  behind,  and  that  he  will  soon  be  about  again.  If  it 
wasn't  that  the  doctors  say  I  must  drink  nothing  but  water 
with  lemon -juice  squeezed  into  it,  I  would  have  nothing  to 
complain  of.  We  have  got  our  servants.  Hoolan  came  in 
blubbering  like  a  calf,  the  omadhoun,  and  I  had  to  threaten 
to  send  him  back  to  the  regiment  before  he  would  be  sensible. 
He  has  sworn  off  spirits  until  I  am  well  enough  to  take  to 
them,  which  is  a  comfort,  for  I  am  sorry  to  say  he  is  one  of 
those  men  who  never  know  when  they  have  had  enough." 

"Like  master,  like  man,  O'Grady." 

"Terence,  when  I  get  well  you  will  repint  of  your  impu- 
dence to  your  supayrior  officer,  when  he  is  not  able  to  defend 
himself." 

Terence  went  across  to  his  father's  bed. 

"  Do  you  really  feel  easier,  father?  " 

"A  great  deal,  lad.  I  was  so  bruised  that  every  breath  I 
took  hurt  me ;  since  I  have  been  tightly  bandaged  I  am  bet- 
ter, ever  so  much.  Daly  says  that  in  a  few  days  I  shall  be  all 
right  again  as  to  that,  but  that  the  other  business  will  keep 


100  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

me  on  my  back  for  a  long  time.  He  has  examined  my 
wound  again,  and  says  he  won't  touch  it  for  a  few  days;  but 
I  can  see  that  he  is  rather  afraid  that  the  bone  has  been 
grazed  if  not  splintered.  You  have  not  heard  what  is  going 
to  be  done,  have  you  ?  ' ' 

"  No,  father ;  the  talk  is  that  no  move  will  be  made  any- 
how until  Sir  John  Moore  lands  with  his  troops ;  after  that  I 
suppose  we  shall  go  forward." 

"  It  is  a  pity  we  did  not  push  forward  to-day,  lad,  if,  as  I 
hear,  half  the  force  were  never  engaged  at  all.  Junot  would 
not  have  carried  off  a  gun  if  our  fellows  had  been  launched 
against  them  while  they  were  in  disorder.  As  it  is,  I  hear 
they  have  marched  away  over  that  ridge  in  as  good  order  as 
they  came,  and  so  we  shall  have  all  the  work  of  thrashing 
them  to  do  over  again. ' ' 

"  They  say  that  is  what  Sir  Arthur  wanted  to  do,  father, 
but  Burrard  overruled  him." 

"  Did  any  man  ever  hear  of  such  nonsense  as  a  general  who 
knows  nothing  at  all  about  the  matter  coming  and  taking  over 
the  command  from  a  general  who  has  just  won  a  battle,  and 
who  has  all  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  matter  at  his  finger-ends  !  " 

"Now,  my  dear  O'Connor,"  O'Grady  broke  in,  "you 
know  what  Daly  said,  the  quieter  you  lie  and  the  less  you 
talk  the  better.  He  did  not  say  so  to  meself;  in  the  first 
place,  because  he  knew  it  would  be  of  no  use,  and  in  the  sec- 
ond, because  there  is  no  raison  on  earth  why,  because  a  man 
has  lost  a  bit  of  his  arm,  his  tongue  should  not  wag.  And 
what  does  the  colonel  say,  Terence ;  is  he  not  delighted  with 
the  regiment  ?  ' ' 

"He  is  that,  and  he  has  a  right  to  be,"  Terence  said. 
"  The  way  they  went  at  the  French,  and  tumbled  them  over 
the  crest  and  down  the  hill  was  splendid.  The  tears  rolled 
down  his  cheeks  when  he  heard  that  the  major  and  the  others 


A   PAUSE  101 

were  killed,  but  he  said  that  a  man  could  not  die  more  glori- 
ously. He  shook  hands  with  all  the  officers  after  it  was  over, 
and  sent  a  party  down  to  the  town  to  buy  and  bring  up  some 
barrels  of  wine,  and  served  out  a  good  allowance  to  each 
man.  As  soon  as  the  firing  ceased  I  heard  him  tell  O'Driscol 
that  he  was  proud  to  have  commanded  the  regiment." 

"That  is  good,  Terence;  and  now,  do  you  think  that  you 
could  bring  me  up  just  a  taste  of  the  cratur?  " 

"The  divil  a  drop,  O'Grady;  if  Daly  and  O'Flaherty 
both  say  that  you  are  not  to  have  it,  it  is  certain  that  it  is  bad 
for  you.  But  I'll  tell  you  what  I  will  do;  I  have  one  bottle 
of  whisky  left,  and  I  will  promise  you  that  it  sha'n't  be 
touched  till  you  are  well  enough  to  drink  it,  and  if  we  are 
marched  away,  as  I  suppose  we  shall  be,  I  will  hand  it  over  to 
O'Flaherty  to  give  you  when  you  are  fit  to  take  it.  He  tells  me 
that  he  will  be  left  to  look  after  the  wounded  when  we  move. ' ' 

"  I  could  not  trust  him,  Terence  ;  I  would  hand  over  a  bag 
of  gold  uncounted  to  him,  but  as  for  whisky,  the  temptation 
would  be  too  great  for  an  Irishman  to  resist.  Look  here,  you 
put  it  into  a  wooden  box  and  nail  it  up  securely,  and  write  on 
it  '  O'Grady's  arm,'  and  hand  it  over  to  him  solemnly,  and 
tell  him  that  I  have  a  fancy  for  burying  the  contents  myself, 
which  will  be  true  enough,  though  it  is  me  throat  I  mean  to 
bury  it  in." 

Knowing  that  it  was  best  they  should  be  left  in  quiet,  Ter- 
ence soon  left  them  and  returned  to  the  regiment. 

"Well,  Dick,  what  did  you  think  of  a  battle?  "  he  asked 
his  chum. 

"  I  don't  quite  know  what  I  did  think.  It  does  not  seem 
to  me  that  I  thought  much  about  it  at  all,  what  with  the  noise 
of  the  firing  and  the  shouting  of  the  men,  and  the  whistle 
overhead  of  the  French  round  shot,  and  the  men  cheering, 
the  French  shouting,  and  the  excitement,  there  was  no  time 


102  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

for  thinking  at  all.  From  the  time  the  skirmishers  came  run- 
ning up  the  hill  to  the  time  when  we  rolled  the  French  down 
it,  I  seem  to  have  been  in  a  dream.  It's  lucky  that  I  had  no 
words  of  command  to  give,  for  I  am  sure  I  should  not  have 
given  them.  I  don't  think  1  was  frightened  at  all ;  somehow 
I  did  not  seem  to  think  of  the  danger.  It  was  just  a  horrible 
confusion. ' ' 

"  I  felt  very  much  like  that,  too.  It  was  not  a  bit  like  what 
it  was  when  we  took  that  brig  ;  I  felt  cool  enough  when  we 
jumped  on  to  her  deck.  But  then  there  was  no  noise  to  speak 
of,  while  the  row  this  morning  was  tremendous.  I  tried  to 
cheer  when  the  men  did,  but  I  could  not  hear  my  own  voice, 
and  I  don't  know  whether  I  made  any  sound  or  not." 

A  delay  of  some  weeks  took  place  after  the  battle  of  Vimiera. 
The  Mayo  Fusiliers  were  not  among  the  troops  who  entered 
Lisbon  in  order  to  overawe  the  populace  and  prevent  attacks 
both  upon  French  soldiers  and  officers,  and  Portuguese  sus- 
pected of  leaning  towards  the  French  cause.  Throughout  the 
country  everything  was  in  confusion.  A  strong  party,  at 
whose  head  were  the  Bishop  of  Oporto  and  Friere,  denounced 
the  convention  with  the  French — against  whom  they  them- 
selves had  done  nothing — as  gross  treachery  on  the  part  of 
the  English  to  Portugal.  They  endeavoured  in  every  way  to 
excite  the  feelings  of  the  population,  both  in  the  country  and 
the  capital,  against  the  British ;  but  in  this  they  failed  alto- 
gether, for  the  people  were  too  thankful  to  get  rid  of  the  op- 
pression and  exactions  of  the  invaders  to  feel  aught  but  satis- 
faction at  their  being  compelled  to  leave  the  country. 

The  Junta  at  Oporto,  at  whose  head  was  the  bishop,  de- 
sired to  grasp  the  entire  power  throughout  the  country,  and 
were  furious  at  being  thwarted  in  their  endeavours  to  prevent 
a  central  Junta  being  established  at  Lisbon.  Throughout 
Spain  also  chaos  reigned.  Each  provincial  Junta  refused  co- 


A   PAUSE  103 

operation  with  others,  and  instead  of  concerting  measures  for 
resistance  against  the  great  force  that  Napoleon  was  assembling 
on  the  frontier,  thought  only  of  satisfying  the  ambitions  and 
greed  of  its  members.  The  generals  disregarded  alike  the  or- 
ders from  the  central  Junta  at  Madrid  and  those  of  the  pro- 
vincial Juntas,  quarrelled  among  themselves  to  a  point  that 
sometimes  approached  open  hostility,  and  each  acted  only  for 
his  private  ends.  Arms  had  been  sent  in  vast  numbers  from 
England  ;  yet,  while  the  money  so  lavishly  bestowed  by  British 
agents  went  into  the  pockets  of  individuals,  the  arms  were  re- 
tained by  the  Juntas  of  Seville,  Cadiz,  and  the  maritime  ports, 
and  the  armies  of  Spain  were  left  almost  unarmed. 

The  term  army  is  indeed  absurd,  as  applied  to  the  gather- 
ings of  peasants  without  an  idea  of  discipline,  with  scarcely 
any  instruction  in  drill,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases,  as  the- 
result  proved,  altogether  deficient  in  courage;  and  yet,  while 
neglecting  all  military  precautions  and  ready  to  crumble  to 
pieces  at  the  first  approach  of  the  French,  the  arrogance  and 
insolence  of  the  authorities,  civil  and  military  alike,  were  ab- 
solutely unbounded.  They  disregarded  wholly  the  advice  of 
the  British  officers  and  agents,  and  treated  the  men  who 
alone  could  save  them  from  the  consequences  of  their  folly 
with  open  contempt. 

After  a  fortnight's  halt  at  Vimiera  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  were 
marched,  with  four  other  regiments,  to  Torres  Vedras,  where 
they  took  up  their  quarters.  In  the  middle  of  October 
O'Grady  and  Saunders  rejoined,  and  Terence  obtained  a  few 
days'  leave  to  visit  his  father. 

The  latter 's  progress  had  been  slow ;  the  wound  was  un- 
healed,  pieces  of  bone  working  their  way  out,  and  the  doctors 
had  decided  that  he  must  be  invalided  home,  as  it  was  desir- 
able to  clear  out  the  hospitals  altogether  before  the  army 
marched  into  Spain. 


104  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"They  think  the  change  of  air  will  do  me  good,"  Major 
O'Connor  said  to  Terence,  as  they  were  chatting  together  af- 
ter the  latter  arrived,  "and  I  think  so  myself.  It  is  evident 
that  I  cannot  take  part  in  the  next  campaign,  but  I  hope  to 
rejoin  again  in  the  spring.  Of  course  it  is  hard,  but  I  must 
not  grumble  ;  if  the  bullet  had  been  half  an  inch  more  to  the 
right  it  would  have  smashed  the  bone  altogether,  then  I  should 
have  had  small  chance  indeed,  for  taking  off  the  leg  at  the  hip 
is  an  operation  that  not  one  man  in  twenty  survives.  O' Flah- 
erty says  he  thinks  that  all  the  bits  of  bone  have  worked  out 
now,  and  that  I  may  not  be  permanently  lame ;  but  if  it  is  to 
be  so,  lad,  it  is  of  no  use  kicking  against  fate.  I  have  got  my 
majority,  and  if  permanently  disabled  by  my  wounds,  can  re- 
tire on  a  pension  on  which  I  can  live  comfortably. 

"So  I  hear  that  Sir  John  Moore  is  going  to  march  into 
Spain.  By  the  way,  you  have  got  some  cousins  in  Oporto  or 
the  neighbourhood,  though  I  don't  suppose  you  are  likely  to 
run  against  them." 

"  I  never  heard  you  say  anything  about  them  before, 
father." 

"  No  ;  I  don't  think  that  I  ever  did  mention  it.  A  first 
cousin  of  mine  went  over,  just  about  the  time  that  I  was  mar- 
ried, to  Oporto,  and  established  himself  there  as  a  wine  mer- 
chant. He  had  been  out  there  before  for  a  firm  in  Dublin, 
and  when  Clancy's  father  died,  and  he  came  into  some  money 
he  went  out,  as  I  said,  and  started  for  himself.  He  was  a 
sharp  fellow  and  did  well,  and  married  the  daughter  of  a  big 
land-owner.  We  used  to  hear  from  him  occasionally.  He 
died  about  a  year  ago,  and  left  a  girl  behind  him  ;  she  had 
been  brought  up  in  her  mother's  religion.  He  never  said 
much  about  his  wife,  but  I  fancy  she  was  a  very  strong  Roman 
Catholic,  and  that  they  did  not  quite  agree  about  the  girl, 
who,  as  I  gathered,  had  a  hankering  after  her  father's  religion. 


A  t>AUSE  105 

However,  after  Clancy  died  we  never  heard  any  more  of 
them. 

"  There  was  a  letter  from  their  man  of  business  announcing 
the  death,  and  stating  that  Clancy  had  left  his  own  property, 
that  is  to  say,  the  money  he  had  made  in  business,  to  the  girl. 
What  has  become  of  her  since  I  do  not  know.  It  was  no  busi- 
ness of  mine,  though  I  believe  that  I  was  his  nearest  relation 
— at  least  my  uncle  had  no  other  children,  and  there  were 
neither  brothers  nor  sisters  except  him  and  my  father.  Still, 
as  he  left  a  widow  who  had  a  good  big  property  on  her  own 
account,  and  was  connected  with  a  lot  of  grandee  families, 
there  was  no  occasion  for  me  to  mix  myself  up  in  the  affair ; 
and,  indeed,  it  never  entered  my  head  to  do  so.  Yet,  Clancy 
and  I  were  great  friends,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  know  what 
has  become  of  his  girl.  I  fancy  that  she  is  about  your  age, 
and  if  Moore  should  take  you  up  north  you  might  make  some 
inquiries  there.  The  mother's  family  name  was  Montarlies, 
and  I  fancy,  from  what  Clancy  said,  her  father's  property  was 
somewhere  to  the  north  of  Oporto,  so  I  expect  that  at  that 
town  you  would  be  likely  to  hear  something  of  them. ' ' 

"All  right,  father;  if  we  go  there  I  will  be  sure  to  make 
some  inquiries." 

On  the  fourth  day  after  Terence's  arrival  the  hospital  was 
broken  up,  the  convalescents  marched  for  Torres  Vedras,  and 
Major  O'Connor,  with  four  other  officers  and  forty  men,  were 
put  on  board  a  ship  to  be  taken  to  England. 

"Your  visit  has  done  your  father  good,  Terence,"  O'Flaherty 
said,  as,  after  seeing  the  party  safely  on  board  ship,  he  re- 
turned to  the  town  whence  they  were  to  march  with  the  con- 
valescents, sixty  in  number,  among  whom  were  five  officers. 
"  He  has  brightened  up  a  deal  the  last  four  days,  and  his  wound 
looks  distinctly  more  healthy.  I  have  a  strong  hope  that  all 
those  splinters  have  worked  out  now,  and  your  being  here  has 


106  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

given  him  a  fillip,  so  that  he  is  altogether  better  and  more 
cheerful.  I  hope  by  the  spring  he  will  be  able  to  rejoin  us.  I 
can  tell  you  I  am  mighty  glad  to  be  off  again  myself.  It  has 
been  pretty  hard  work  here,  for  I  have  had,  for  the  last  fort- 
night, a  hundred  and  twenty  men  on  my  hands.  At  first 
there  were  three  of  us  here,  but  two  went  off  with  the  last 
batch  of  convalescents,  and  I  have  been  alone  since.  Luckily 
Major  Peters  has  been  well  enough  to  look  after  things  in 
general,  and  help  the  commissariat  man  ;  still,  with  forty  bad 
cases,  I  have  not  had  much  time  on  my  hands.  Of  course  I 
knew  him  and  all  the  other  officers,  but  they  all  belonged  to 
other  regiments,  and  it  was  not  like  being  among  the  Mayos. 
And  when  do  you  think  we  will  be  starting  again  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  idea.  I  have  heard  that  Moore  is  doing  every- 
thing he  can  to  hurry  on  things,  but  that  he  is  awfully 
hampered  for  want  of  money.  It  is  scandalous.  Here  are  our 
agents  supplied  with  immense  sums  for  the  use  of  these  black- 
guard Spaniards,  yet  they  keep  their  own  army  without 
funds." 

"  If  the  general  has  no  funds,  Terence,  he  had  better  be 
stopping  where  he  is.  There  is  no  getting  anything  in  Portugal 
without  paying  ten  times  the  proper  price  for  it,  and  from 
what  I  hear  of  the  Spaniards  they  will  charge  twenty  times, 
put  the  money  in  their  pockets,  and  then  not  even  give  you 
what  you  paid  for.  As  to  their  being  any  good  to  us  as  allies, 
it  is  not  to  be  hoped  for;  they  will  take  our  arms  and  our 
money,  expect  us  to  feed  their  troops,  and  will  then  run  away 
at  the  sight  of  a  French  soldier;  you  will  see  if  they  don't." 

"  I  hear  that  the  Junta  of  Corunna  says  that  all  the  north 
will  rise  as  soon  as  we  enter  their  country." 

"  They  may  rise  and  flock  round  us  until  they  have  got 
arms  and  money,  and  then  they  will  go  off  to  their  homes 
again.  That  is  the  sort  of  assistance  that  is  to  be  had  from 


A  PAUSE  107 

them.  We  should  do  a  deal  better  if  there  was  not  a  Spaniard 
in  the  country,  and  it  was  left  to  us  to  fight  it  out  with  the 
French." 

"  In  that  case,  O' Flaherty,  we  should  never  cross  the  frontier 
at  all.  They  say  that  Napoleon  is  gathering  a  great  army,  and 
against  such  a  force,  with  the  French  troops  already  in  Spain, 
our  twenty  or  twenty -five  thousand  men  would  fare  very 
badly,  especially  as  they  say  that  the  emperor  is  coming  him- 
self." 

"  That  is  worse  news  than  the  other,  Terence.  It  is  only 
because  the  French  generals  have  always  been  quarrelling 
among  themselves  that  the  whole  Peninsula  has  not  been  con- 
quered ;  but  with  Napoleon  at  the  head  of  affairs  it  would  be 
a  different  matter  altogether,  and  my  humble  opinion  is  that 
we  had  better  stay  where  we  are  until  he  has  wiped  out  the 
Spaniards  altogether. ' ' 

Terence  laughed. 

"  You  don't  take  a  sanguine  view  of  things." 

"  You  have  been  with  the  regiment,  Terence,  and  have  had 
very  little  to  do  with  the  natives.  I  have  not  seen  very  much 
of  them  either,  thank  goodness ;  but  I  have  seen  quite  enough 
to  know  that  though  perhaps  the  peasants  would  make  good 
soldiers,  if  officered  by  Englishmen,  there  is  mighty  little  feel- 
ing of  patriotism  among  the  classes  above  them.  Reading 
and  writing  may  be  good  for  some  countries,  but  as  far  as 
I  see  here,  reading  and  writing  spoil  them  here,  for  every  man 
one  comes  across  who  can  sign  his  name  is  intent  either  on 
filling  his  pocket,  or  on  working  some  scheme  or  other  for  his 
own  advantage.  If  I  were  Sir  John  Moore  I  would  send  up  a 
division  to  Oporto,  hang  the  bishop  and  every  member  of  the 
Junta,  shoot  Friere  and  a  dozen  of  his  principal  officers,  and  if 
the  people  of  Oporto  gave  them  the  chance  clear  the  streets 
with  grape-shot.  Why,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  a  small  guard  of 


108  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

our  fellows  with  the  French  garrisons  that  were  marched  down 
there  to  embark,  the  Portuguese  would  have  murdered  every 
man-jack  of  them. 

"  They  did  murder  a  good  many,  and  robbed  them  all  of 
their  baggage  ;  and  if  it  had  not  been  that  our  men  loaded  and 
would  have  fired  on  them  if  they  had  gone  further,  not  a 
Frenchman  would  have  got  off  alive.  If  this  had  been  done  in 
Lisbon,  where  the  French  had  been  masters,  there  might  have 
been  some  sort  of  excuse  for  it ;  but  they  had  never  been  near 
Oporto  at  all,  and  therefore  the  people  there  had  no  scores  to 
settle  with  them." 

"I  am  afraid,  O' Flaherty,  that  an  army  worked  on  your 
principles  would  never  get  far  from  the  coast,  for  we  should 
have  the  whole  country  against  us." 

"  So  much  the  better  if  we  never  got  far  from  the  coast. 
How  much  help  have  we  had  from  them  ?  There  is  not  a  single 
horse  or  waggon  for  transport  except  those  we  have  hired  at 
exorbitant  prices  ;  not  a  single  ounce  of  food.  They  would  not 
even  divide  with  us  the  magazines  at  Leirya,  which  they  had 
no  share  in  capturing.  The  rabble  they  call  an  army  has 
never  fired  a  shot  or  marched  a  yard  with  us,  except  Trant's 
small  command,  and  they  were  kept  so  far  out  of  it  in  both 
fights,  that  I  doubt  whether  they  fired  a  shot ;  and  yet  they 
take  upon  themselves  to  throw  every  obstacle  in  our  way,  to 
dictate  to  our  generals,  and  to  upset  every  plan  as  soon  as  it  is 
formed. 

1 '  Well,  I  shall  be  glad  to  be  back  with  the  regiment  again, 
Terence.  There  is  some  fun  going  on  there  anyhow,  and  I 
have  not  had  a  hearty  laugh  since  O'Grady  went  off  ten  days 
ago." 

"  We  were  all  heartily  glad  to  see  him  back  again,"  Terence 
said.  "  He  does  not  seem  a  bit  the  worse  for  having  lost  his 
hand," 


A    PAUSE  109 

"  No,  he  has  got  through  it  a  deal  better  than  I  had  expected, 
considering  that  he  is  not  what  might  be  called  a  very  temper- 
ate man." 

"  Not  by  any  means.  It  is  not  very  often  that  he  takes 
more  liquor  than  he  can  carry,  but  he  generally  goes  very 
close  to  the  mark." 

"I kept  him  very  short  here,"  O'Flaherty  laughed,  "  and 
told  him  that  if  he  did  not  obey  orders  I  would  have  him  in- 
valided home ;  I  have  got  him  to  promise  that  he  will  draw 
in  a  bit  in  future,  and  have  good  hopes  of  his  keeping  it,  see- 
ing that  when  the  army  starts  again  you  won't  get  much  chance 
of  indulging." 

•  "  It  will  be  a  good  thing  for  others  as  well  as  O'Grady," 
Terence  said,  quietly.  "  I  suppose  in  Ireland  the  whisky  does 
not  do  much  harm,  seeing  that  it  is  a  wet  country;  but  here 
I  notice  that  they  cannot  drink  half  as  much  as  they  were  ac- 
customed to  without  feeling  it." 

"  That  is  true  for  you,  Terence.  Haifa  bottle  here  goes  as 
far  as  a  bottle  in  the  old  country ;  and  I  find  with  the  wound- 
ed, spirits  have  a  very  bad  effect,  even  in  very  small  quantities. 
There  is  one  thing,  when  the  troops  are  on  the  march  they  not 
only  get  small  chance  of  getting  drink,  but  mighty  little  time 
to  think  of  it.  When  you  have  been  doing  your  twenty  miles  a 
day,  with  halts  and  stoppages  on  these  beastly  roads  and  defiles, 
and  are  on  your  feet  from  daylight  until  late  in  the  evening, 
and  then,  perhaps,  a  turn,  at  the  outposts,  a  man  hasn't  got 
much  time  for  divarshun  ;  and  even  if  there  is  liquor  to  be 
had,  he  is  glad  enough  when  he  has  had  a  glass  or  so  to  wrap 
himself  in  his  cloak  and  lie  down  to  sleep.  I  have  nearly 
sworn  off  myself,  for  I  found  that  my  head  troubled  me  in  the 
morning  after  a  glass  or  two,  more  than  it  did  after  an  all- 
night's  sitting  at  Athlone.  Ah,  Terence,  it  is  lucky  for  you 
that  you  have  no  fancy  for  it  J  " 


110  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"I  hope  I  never  shall  have,  O' Flaherty.  If  one  has  got 
thoroughly  wet  through  in  a  long  day's  fishing,  it  may  be  that 
a  glass  of  punch  may  keep  away  a  cold,  though  even  that  I 
doubt.  But  I  am  sure  that  I  am  better  without  it  at  any 
other  time ;  and  I  hope  some  day  the  fashion  will  change,  and 
instead  of  it  being  considered  almost  as  a  matter  of  course 
after  a  dinner  that  half  the  men  should  be  under  the  table,  it 
will  then  be  looked  upon  as  disgraceful  for  a  man  to  get 
drunk,  as  it  is  now  for  a  woman  to  do  so." 

O' Flaherty  looked  at  his  companion  with  amused  surprise. 
"Faith,  Terence,  that  would  be  a  change  indeed,  and  you 
might  as  well  say  that  you  hope  the  time  will  come  when  you 
can  whip  off  a  fellow's  leg  without  his  feeling  pain." 

"  Perhaps  that  may  come  too,"  Terence  laughed  ;  "  there 
is  no  saying." 

The  next  morning  the  detachment  started  at  daybreak  and 
marched  to  Torres  Vedras,  where  they  heard  that  a  general 
movement  was  expected  to  begin.  The  regiment  had  now  a 
comfortable  mess,  and  the  situation  was  freely  discussed  as 
scraps  of  news  arrived  from  Lisbon.  Could  the  English 
ministry  have  heard  the  comments  on  their  imbecility  passed 
by  the  officers  of  the  British  army,  even  they  might  have 
doubted  the  perfect  wisdom  of  their  plan.  On  the  6th  of 
October,  Moore  had  received  a  despatch  stating  that  30,000 
infantry  and  5,000  cavalry  were  to  be  employed  in  the  north 
of  Spain.  Ten  thousand  of  these  were  to  be  sent  out  direct 
from  England,  the  remainder  were  to  be  composed  of  regi- 
ments from  the  army  in  Portugal.  Moore  had  the  choice  of 
taking  the  troops  round  in  ships  or  of  marching  them  direct. 
He  decided  upon  the  latter  course,  for  arrangements  had  been 
made  by  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  to  enter  Spain  by  Almeida,  and, 
moreover,  he  thought  that  the  resources  of  the  sea-coast  of 
Galicia  would  not  be  more  than  sufficient  to  supply  transport 


A  PAUSE  111 

and  food  for  the  10,000  men  who  were  to  land  there  under 
the  command  of  Sir  David  Baird. 

The  English  general's  difficulties  were  indeed  overwhelm- 
ing. He  had  soldiers  who,  although  but  recently  raised,  had 
shown  themselves  good  fighters  ;  but  he  was  altogether  without 
even  transport  sufficient  for  the  officers.  With  an  ample 
supply  of  money,  an  experienced  staff,  and  a  well -organized 
commissariat,  the  difficulties  might  have  been  overcome,  but 
Sir  John  Moore  was  practically  without  money.  His  staff 
had  no  experience  whatever,  and  the  commissariat  and  trans- 
port officers  were  alike  ignorant  of  the  work  they  were  called 
upon  to  perform.  He  was  unacquainted  with  the  views  of 
the  Spanish  government,  and  uninformed  as  to  the  numbers, 
composition,  and  situation  of  the  Spanish  armies  with  whom 
he  was  to  act,  or  with  those  of  the  enemy.  He  had  a  winter 
march  of  300  miles  before  he  could  join  Sir  David  Baird,  who 
would  have  200  miles  to  march  from  Corunna  to  join  him, 
and  there  was  then  a  distance  of  another  300  miles  to  be 
traversed  before  he  reached  the  Ebro,  which  was  designated 
as  the  centre  of  his  operations. 

And  all  this  had  to  be  done  while  a  great  French  army  was 
already  pouring  in  through  the  passes  of  the  Pyrenees.  No 
more  tremendous,  or,  it  may  be  said,  impossible,  task  was  ever 
assigned  to  an  English  commander  ;  and  to  add  to  the  absurd- 
ity of  their  scheme,  the  British  government  sent  off  Sir  David 
Baird  without  instructions,  and  even  without  money.  The 
Duke  of  York  had  vainly  protested  against  the  plan  of  the 
ministry,  and  had  pointed  out  that  nothing  short  of  an  army 
of  60,000  men,  fully  equipped  with  all  necessaries  for  war — 
money,  transport,  and  artillery — could  achieve  success  of  any 
kind. 

Upon  the  day  Terence  rejoined,  news  came  from  the  engi- 
neers in  advance  that  the  assurances  §ir  John  Moore  had 


WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

received  that  the  road  by  which  the  army  was  to  travel  was 
perfectly  practicable  for  artillery  and  baggage-waggons,  were 
wholly  false,  and  it  was  probable  that  the  artillery  and  cavalry 
would  have  to  make  a  long  circuit  to  the  south. 

It  was  too  late  now  to  change  the  route  for  the  rest  of  the 
army.  Nearly  half  the  force  had  already  started  on  the  road 
to  Almeida,  and  the  supplies  for  their  subsistence  had  been 
collected  at  that  town.  Therefore  it  was  necessary  that  the 
main  body  of  the  infantry  should  travel  by  that  road,  while 
three  thousand  were  to  act  as  a  guard  for  the  artillery  and 
cavalry  on  the  other  route. 


CHAPTER    VII 

THE   ADVANCE 

"  TT  is  enough  to  drive  Sir  John  out  of  his  senses,"  the 
1  colonel  said,  as  the  news  was  discussed  after  mess. 
"  These  people  must  be  the  champion  liars  of  the  world.  Not 
content  with  doing  nothing  themselves,  they  seem  to  delight  in 
inventing  lies  to  prevent  our  doing  anything  for  them.  Who 
ever  heard  of  an  army  marching,  without  artillery  and  cav- 
alry, one  way,  while  these  arms  travelled  by  a  different  road 
entirely,  and  that  not  for  a  march  of  twenty  miles,  but  for 
a  march  of  three  hundred  ?  One  battery  is  to  go  with  u.s. 
But  what  will  be  the  use  of  six  guns  against  an  enemy  with 
sixty  ?  Every  day  the  baggage  is  being  cut  down  owing  to 
these  blackguard  Portuguese  breaking  their  engagements  to 
furnish  waggons,  and  we  shall  have  to  march  pretty  nearly  as 
we  stand,  and  to  take  with  us  nothing  beyond  one  change  of 
clothes." 

Loud  exclamations  of  discontent  ran  round  the  table.     It 


THE   ADVANCE  113 

was  bad  enough  that  in  the  midst  of  a  campaign  waggons 
should  break  down  and  baggage  be  left  behind,  but  that  troops 
should  start  upon  a  campaign  with  scarcely  the  necessaries  of 
life  had  caused  general  anger  in  the  army  ;  and  no  order  would 
have  been  more  willingly  obeyed  than  one  to  march  upon 
Lisbon,  shoot  every  public  official,  establish  a  state  of  siege, 
and  rule  by  martial  law,  seizing  for  the  use  of  the  army  every 
draught  animal,  waggon,  and  carriage  that  could  be  found  in 
the  city,  or  swept  in  from  the  country  round.  The  colonel 
had  not  exaggerated  matters.  The  number  of  tents  to  be 
taken  were  altogether  insufficient  for  the  regiment,  even  with 
the  utmost  crowding  possible.  The  officers'  baggage  had  been 
cut  down  to  twenty  pounds  a  head — an  amount  scarcely  suffi- 
cient for  a  single  change  of  clothes  and  boots.  Even  the 
amount  of  ammunition  to  be  taken  would  be  insufficient  to  refill 
the  soldiers'  pouches  after  the  supply  they  carried  was  exhausted. 

The  paucity  of  baggage  would  not  have  mattered  so  much 
had  the  march  begun  at  the  commencement  of  summer,  instead 
of  just  as  winter  was  setting  in.  In  the  former  case,  men 
could  have  slept  in  the  open  air,  and  a  solitary  blanket  and 
one  change  of  clothes  would  have  sufficed ;  but  with  the  wet 
season  at  hand,  to  be  followed  by  winter  cold,  the  grievance 
was  a  very  serious  one.  Terence  had  already  learned  that  the 
brigade  was  to  march  in  two  days,  and  that  the  great  bulk  of 
the  baggage  was  to  be  stored  at  Torres  Vedras,  which  was  to 
be  occupied  on  their  leaving  by  some  of  the  troops  that  would 
remain  in  Portugal. 

"Faith,  it  is  an  evil  look-out,  Terence,"  O'Grady,  who  was 
sitting  next  to  him,  said,  pathetically.  "  Sorra  a  drop  of 
whisky  is  there  in  the  camp,  and  now  we  sha'n't  be  able  to 
have  even  a  drink  of  their  bastely  spirits,  onless  we  can  buy  it 
at  the  towns  ;  and  as  Anstruther's  division  has  gone  on  ahead 
of  us,  it  is  likely  that  every  drop  has  been  drunk  up." 
3 


114  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"  It  will  be  all  the  better  for  you,  O'Grady.  Daly  tells  me 
that  your  arm  is  not  fully  healed  yet.  I  know  that  you  would 
not  like  to  be  left  behind  when  we  have  once  started." 

"That  is  true  enough,  but  a  drop  of  the  cratur  hurts  no 
one." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  O'Grady,  it  is  very  bad  for  anything 
like  a  wound.  The  doctor  told  me,  when  I  was  chatting  with 
him  before  dinner,  that  he  really  did  not  think  that  you  could 
go,  for  you  would  not  obey  his  orders  to  give  up  spirits  alto- 
gether." 

"  Well,  I  own  that  it  has  been  smarting  a  good  deal  the  last 
few  days,"  O'Grady  admitted,  reluctantly,  "though  I  have 
not  said  as  much  to  the  doctor.  I  don't  know  that  you  are 
not  about  right,  Terence  ;  but  faith,  after  being  kept  upon 
bastely  slops  by  O' Flaherty,  it  was  not  in  human  nature  to 
drink  nothing  but  water  when  one  gets  a  chance.  At  any 
rate,  I  am  not  likely  to  find  any  great  temptation  after  we 
have  started." 

"  Well,  you  had  better  begin  to-night,  O'Grady.  I  am 
going  to  get  away  as  soon  as  I  can,  and  if  you  will  take  my 
advice  you  will  come  too." 

"What !  and  us  to  march  in  two  dajs?  It  is  not  to  be 
thought  of.  You  mane  well,  Terence,  but  a  lad  like  you  must 
not  take  to  lecturing  your  supayrior  officer.  Shure,  and  don't 
I  know  what  to  do  for  meself  better  than  any  other  ?  " 

Terence  saw  that  it  was  useless  to  endeavour  to  persuade 
him  to  move,  and  presently  went  round  to  Dr.  Daly  and  said, 
quietly : 

"  Doctor,  O'Grady  tells  me  that  his  arm  has  been  hurting 
him  a  good  deal  more  during  the  last  two  days.  I  expect  they 
will  make  a  night  of  it  this  evening,  and  again  to-morrow, 
and  if  he  once  begins,  nothing  will  stop  him  until  they  break 
up.  Could  not  you  do  anything  ?  ' ' 


THE   ADVANCE  115 

"  I  will  talk  to  him  like  a  father,  Terence.  You  are  a  good 
boy  to  have  told  me  ;  I  might  have  gone  away  without  think- 
ing of  it." 

"  Don't  mention  my  name,  Doctor." 

The  doctor  nodded,  and  Terence  went  away  and  took  a 
vacant  seat  at  some  distance  from  him.  Presently  the  doctor 
got  up  and  went  round  to  O'Grady.  The  supply  of  claret  had 
just  been  finished,  and  bottles  of  spirits  had  been  placed  upon 
the  table.  O'Grady  stretched  out  his  hand  to  one  near  him, 
but  the  doctor  quietly  removed  it. 

"  Not  for  you,  O'Grady,"  he  said;  "  you  have  had  more 
than  sufficient  wine  already.  I  have  been  doubting  whether 
you  are  fit  to  go  on  with  the  regiment ;  and,  by  the  powers,  if 
you  touch  spirits  to-night  or  to-morrow,  I  will  put  your  name 
down  in  the  list  of  those  who  are  to  be  left  behind  as  unfit  for 
service !  " 

"  Sure  you  are  joking,  Doctor?  " 

"  Never  was  more  earnest  in  my  life,  O'Grady.  You  don't 
want  to  be  left  behind,  I  suppose,  in  some  filthy  Portuguese 
town,  while  we  march  on,  and  that  is  what  it  will  come  to  if 
your  wound  inflames.  I  told  you  this  morning  that  it  was  not 
doing  as  well  as  it  ought  to,  and  that  you  must  cut  off  liquor 
altogether.  I  have  had  my  eye  upon  you,  and  you  have  taken 
down  more  than  a  bottle  of  wine  already.  I  don't  think  I 
ought  to  let  you  go  with  us,  even  as  it  is ;  but,  by  the  piper 
that  played  before  Moses,  if  you  don't  go  off  to  your  quarters, 
without  touching  a  drop  more,  I  will  have  you  left  behind  !  " 

"  You  are  mighty  hard  on  a  poor  fellow,  and  must  have  a 
heart  of  stone  to  treat  a  man,  who  has  lost  his  arm  and  wants 
a  bit  of  comfort,  in  such  fashion.  Faith,  I  would  not  do  it 
to  a  dog." 

"There  would  be  no  occasion,  O'Grady;  a  dog  has  got 
sense." 


116  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"And  I  haven't?  Thank  ye  for  the  compliment.  I  will 
appeal  to  the  colonel.  Colonel,  the  doctor  says  if  I  drink  a 
drop  of  spirits  to-night  or  to-morrow  he  will  put  me  down  in 
the  black  list.  Now,  I  ask  you,  do  the  regulations  justify  his 
using  such  a  threat  as  that  ?  ' ' 

"I  think  they  do,"  the  colonel  said,  with  a  laugh.  "<I 
think  that  his  order  is  good  and  sensible,  and  I  endorse  it. 
You  know  yourself  that  spirits  are  bad  for  you,  with  an  arm 
only  just  healed  up.  Now,  behave  like  a  raisonable  fellow, 
and  go  off  to  your  quarters.  You  know  well  enough  that  if 
you  stop  here  you  won't  be  able  to  keep  from  it." 

"  Faith,  if  the  two  of  you  are  against  me  I  have  nothing 
more  to  say.  It  is  mighty  hard  that  after  having  lost  an  arm 
in  the  service  of  my  country  I  should  be  treated  like  a  child 
and  sent  off  to  bed." 

"  I  am  going,  too,  O'Grady,"  Terence,  who  had  gone  back 
to  his  original  place,  now  said.  "  There  is  no  occasion  to  go 
to  bed.  I  have  a  box  of  good  cigars  in  my  tent,  and  we  can 
sit  there  and  chat  as  long  as  you  like." 

But  O'Grady's  dignity  was  ruffled. 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  O'Connor,"  he  said,  stiffly;  "but  with 
your  lave  I  will  do  as  I  said." 

"That  is  the  best  thing,"  the  doctor  said.  "You  have 
not  had  a  long  night's  rest  since  you  rejoined.  I  am  going 
myself,  and  I  see  that  some  of  the  others  are  getting  up,  too, 
and  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  all  would  do  so,  for,  with  such 
work  as  we  have  got  before  us,  the  more  sleep  we  get,  while  we 
can,  the  better." 

As  nearly  half  the  officers  now  rose  from  their  seats,  O'Grady 
was  mollified,  and  as  we  went  out  he  said  : 

"  I  think,  after  all,  Terence,  I  will  try  one  of  those  cigars 
of  yours. ' ' 

On  the  1 4th  of  October  Fane's  brigade  left  Torres  Vedras. 


•*  I  AM  TOLD  THAT  YOU  WISH  TO  SPEAK  TO  ME,  GENERAL." 


THE   ADVANCE  lit 

A  number  of  the  troops  had  been  stationed  along  the  line  of 
route  to  be  followed,  and  these  had  started  simultaneously 
with  the  departure  of  Fane's  brigade  from  Torres  Vedras.  The 
discontent  as  to  the  reduction  of  baggage  ceased  as  soon  as  the 
troops  were  in  motion.  They  were  going  to  invade  Spain,  and 
ignorant  as  the  soldiers  were  of  the  real  state  of  affairs,  none 
doubted  but  that  success  would  attend  them  there.  Among 
the  officers  better  acquainted  with  the  state  of  things  there  was 
no  such  feeling  of  confidence,  but  they  hoped  that  they  should 
at  least  give  as  good  an  account  of  themselves  as  before,  against 
any  French  force  of  anything  like  equal  strength  they  might 
encounter.  O'Grady,  influenced  by  the  doctor's  threats,  which 
he  knew  the  latter  would  be  firm  enough  to  carry  out,  had 
obeyed  his  orders,  and  had  confided  to  Terence,  when  the 
regiment  formed  up  at  daybreak  for  the  march,  that  his  arm 
felt  much  better. 

"  I  don't  say  that  the  doctor  may  not  have  been  right, 
Terence,  but  he  need  not  have  threatened  me  in  that  way,  at 
all,  at  all." 

"  I  don't  know,"  Terence  replied.  "  I  feel  pretty  sure  that 
if  he  hadn't,  you  would  not  have  knocked  off  spirits.  Well, 
it  is  a  glorious  morning  for  starting,  but  I  am  afraid  the  fine 
weather  won't  last  long.  Everyone  says  that  the  rains  gen- 
erally begin  about  this  time." 

As  Terence  fell  in  with  his  company  the  adjutant  rode  up. 

"  Mr.  O'Connor,  you  are  to  report  yourself  to  the  briga- 
dier." 

Wondering  much  at  the  message,  Terence  hurried  to  the 
house  occupied  by  General  Fane.  He  and  several  officers 
were  standing  in  front  of  it. 

"  I  am  told  that  you  wish  to  speak  to  me,  General,"  he  said, 
saluting. 

"  Oh,  you  are  Mr.  O'Connor  1     Can  you  ride?  " 


118  WITH    MOORE   AT  CORUNNA 

"  Yes,  sir,"  Terence  replied  ;  for  he  had  often  had  a  scam- 
per across  the  hills  around  Athlone  on  half-broken  ponies,  and 
occasionally  on  the  horses  of  some  of  his  friends  in  the  regi- 
ment. 

"  I  have  a  vacancy  on  my  staff.  Lieutenant  Andrews  was 
thrown  when  riding  out  from  Lisbon  with  a  despatch  last  night, 
and  broke  a  leg.  I  was  on  board  the  flag-ship  when  your 
colonel  brought  his  report  about  the  fight  between  the  trans- 
port and  the  two  privateers.  I  read  it,  and  was  so  much 
struck  with  the  quickness  and  intelligence  you  displayed,  that 
I  made  a  note  at  the  time  that  if  I  should  have  a  vacancy  on 
my  staff  I  would  appoint  you. ' ' 

"I  am  very  much  obliged,  General,"  Terence  said,  "  but 
I  have  no  horse." 

"  I  have  arranged  that.  Lieutenant  Andrews  will  not  be 
fit  for  service  for  a  long  time.  It  is  a  compound  fracture,  and 
he  will,  the  doctor  says,  probably  be  sent  back  to  England  by 
the  first  ship  that  arrives  after  he  reaches  Lisbon.  His  horse 
is  therefore  useless  to  him,  and  as  it  is  only  a  native  animal 
and  would  not  fetch  a  ten -pound  note,  he  agreed  at  once  to 
hand  it  over  to  his  successor,  and  in  fact  was  rather  glad  to 
get  it  off  his  hands.  He  has  an  English  saddle,  bridle,  and 
holsters;  he  will  take  five  pounds  for  them.  If  you  happen  to 
be  short  of  cash  the  paymaster  will  settle  it  for  you." 

"Thank  you,  sir;  I  have  the  money  about  me,  and  I  am 
very  much  obliged  to  you  for  making  the  arrangement." 

Terence  was  indeed  in  funds,  for  in  addition  to  the  ten 
pounds  that  had  fallen  to  him  as  his  share  of  the  prize  money, 
his  pay  had  been  almost  untouched  from  the  day  he  left  Eng- 
land, and  his  father  had,  on  embarking,  added  ten  pounds  to 
his  store. 

"  I  won't  want  it,  Terence,"  he  said  ;  "  I  have  got  another 
twenty  pounds  by  me,  and  by  the  time  I  get  to  England  I 


THE   ADVANCE  119 

shall  have  another  month's  pay  to  draw,  and  shall  no  doubt  be 
put  in  a  military  hospital,  where  I  shall  have  no  occasion  for 
money  till  I  am  out  again." 

"  But  I  sha'n't  want  it  either,  father." 

"  There  is  never  any  saying,  lad  ;  it  is  always  useful  to  have 
money  on  a  campaign.  You  may  be  in  places  where  the  com- 
missariat breaks  down  altogether,  and  you  have  to  depend  on 
what  you  buy ;  you  may  be  left  behind  wounded,  or  may  be 
taken  prisoner,  one  never  can  tell.  I  shall  feel  more  com- 
fortable about  you  if  I  know  that  you  are  well  provided  with 
cash,  whatever  may  happen.  My  advice  is,  Terence,  get  fif- 
teen or  twenty  pounds  in  gold  sewn  up  in  your  boot ;  have  an 
extra  sole  put  on,  and  the  money  sewn  inside.  If  it  is  your 
bad  luck  to  be  taken  prisoner,  you  will  find  the  money  mighty 
useful  in  a  great  many  ways." 

Terence  had  followed  this  advice  and  had  fifteen  pounds 
hidden  away,  besides  ten  that  he  carried  in  his  pockets ;  he 
therefore  hurried  to  the  hut  where  Lieutenant  Andrews  was 
lying.  He  was  slightly  acquainted  with  him,  as  he  had  been 
Fane's  aide-de-camp  from  the  time  of  landing.  The  young 
lieutenant's  servant  was  standing  at  the  door  with  a  horse 
ready  saddled  and  bridled. 

' '  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  of  your  injury, ' '  he  said  to  the 
young  officer. 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  horrible  nuisance,"  the  other  replied ;  "  and 
just  as  we  were  starting,  too.  There  is  an  end  of  my  cam- 
paigning for  the  present.  I  should  not  have  minded  if  it  had 
been  a  French"  ball,  but  to  be  merely  thrown  from  a  horse  is 
disgusting." 

"  I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you  for  the  horse,  Andrews, 
but  I  would  rather  pay  you  for  it ;  it  is  not  fair  that  I  should 
get  it  for  nothing." 

"  Oh,  that  is  all  right !     It  would  be  a  bother  taking  it 


120  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

down,  and  I  should  not  know  what  to  do  with  it  when  I  got 
to  Lisbon ;  it  would  be  a  nuisance  altogether,  and  I  am  glad 
to  get  rid  of  it.  The  money  is  of  no  consequence  to  me  one 
way  or  the  other.  I  wish  you  better  luck  with  it  than  I  have 
had." 

"At  any  rate  here  are  five  pounds  for  the  saddle  and 
bridle,"  and  he  put  the  money  down  on  the  table  by  the  bed. 

"  That  is  all  right,"  the  other  said,  without  looking  at  it; 
"  they  are  well  off  my  hands,  too.  I  hope  the  authorities  will 
send  me  straight  on  board  ship  when  I  get  to  Lisbon  ;  my  ser- 
vant will  go  down  with  me.  If  I  am  kept  there,  he  will  of 
course  stay  with  me  until  I  sail ;  if  not,  he  will  rejoin  as  soon 
as  he  has  seen  me  on  board.  He  is  a  good  servant,  and  I  can 
recommend  him  to  you ;  he  is  rather  fond  of  the  bottle,  but 
that  is  his  only  fault  as  far  as  I  know.  He  is  a  countryman  of 
yours,  and  you  will  be  able  to  make  allowances  for  his  fail- 
ing," he  added,  with  a  laugh. 

There  was  no  time  to  be  lost — the  bugles  were  sounding — 
so,  with  a  brief  adieu,  Terence  went  out,  mounted  the  horse 
and  rode  after  the  general,  who  had  just  left  with  his  staff, 
and  taken  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  column.  As  he  passed 
his  regiment,  he  stopped  for  a  moment  to  speak  to  the 
colonel. 

"  I  heard  that  you  were  wanted  by  the  general,  Terence," 
the  latter  said,  "  and  I  congratulate  you  on  your  appointment. 
I  am  sorry  that  you  are  leaving  us,  but,  as  you  will  be  with 
the  brigade,  we  shall  often  see  you.  O'Driscol  is  as  savage  as 
a  bull  at  the  loss  of  one  of  his  subalterns.  Well,  it  is  your 
own  luck  that  you  have  and  another's  ;  drop  in  this  even- 
ing, if  you  can,  and  tell  us  how  it  was  that  Fane  came  to  pick 
you  out." 

"It  was  thanks  to  you,  Colonel.  If  you  remember,  you 
told  us  at  Vigo  that  Fane  was  on  board  when  you  went  to 


THE  ADVANCE  121 

make  your  report,  and  that  he  and  Sir  Arthur's  adjutant-gen- 
eral read  it  over  together,  and  asked  you  a  good  many  ques- 
tions. It  was  owing  to  that  affair  that  he  thought  of  me." 

"  That  is  good,  lad.  I  thought  at  the  time  that  more  might 
come  of  it  than  just  being  mentioned  in  orders,  and  I  am  very 
glad  that  it  was  for  that  you  got  it.  At  any  rate,  come  in 
this  evening;  I  want  to  hear  where  you  have  stolen  that  horse 
from,  and  all  about  it." 

Terence  rode  off  and  took  his  place  with  his  fellow  aide- 
de-camp  behind  the  two  other  officers  of  the  staff.  He  scarcely 
knew  whether  to  be  glad  or  sorry,  at  present,  at  the  change 
that  had  so  suddenly  taken  place.  It  was  gratifying  to  have 
been  selected  as  he  had  been.  It  was  certainly  more  pleasant 
to  ride  through  a  campaign  than  to  march ;  and  there  would 
be  a  good  many  more  chances  of  distinguishing  himself  than 
there  could  be  as  a  regimental  officer ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  would  be  away  from  the  circle  of  his  friends  and  com- 
rades, and  should  greatly  miss  the  fun  and  jollity  of  the  life 
with  them. 

"An  unfortunate  affair  this  of  Andrews,"  Lieutenant  Tre- 
vor, his  fellow  aide-de-camp,  said. 

"  Most  unfortunate.  I  little  thought  when  you  and  he 
lunched  with  us  two  days  since  that  to-day  he  would  be  down 
with  a  broken  leg  and  I  riding  in  his  place.  Just  at  present 
I  certainly  do  not  feel  very  delighted  at  the  change.  You  see, 
from  my  father  being  a  captain  in  the  regiment,  I  have  been 
brought  up  with  it,  and  to  be  taken  so  suddenly  away  from 
them  seems  a  tremendous  wrench. ' ' 

"  Yes,  I  can  understand  that,"  the  other  said.  "  In  my  case 
it  is  different.  My  regiment  was  not  coming  out,  and  of  course 
I  was  greatly  pleased  when  the  general  gave  me  a  chance  of 
going  with  him.  Still,  you  see,  as  your  regiment  is  in  the 
brigade  you  will  still  be  able  to  be  with  it  when  off  duty, 


122  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

and  when  the  end  of  the  campaign  comes  you  will  return  to 
it.  Besides,  there  are  compensations — you  will  at  least  get  a 
roof  to  sleep  under,  at  any  rate  nine  times  out  of  ten.  I  don't 
know  how  you  feel  it,  but  to  me  it  is  no  small  comfort  being 
on  horseback  instead  of  tramping  along  these  heavy  roads  on 
foot.  The  brigadier  is  a  capital  fellow ;  and  though  he  does 
keep  us  hard  at  work,  at  any  rate  he  works  hard  himself,  and 
does  not  send  us  galloping  about  with  all  sorts  of  trivial  mes- 
sages that  might  as  well  be  unsent.  Besides,  he  is  always 
thoughtful  and  considerate.  Is  he  related  to  you  in  any  way  ?  ' ' 

"Not  at  all." 

"Then  I  suppose  you  had  good  interest  in  some  way,  or 
else  how  did  he  come  to  pick  you  out  ?  ' ' 

"  It  was  just  a  piece  of  luck,"  Terence  said ;  "it  was  be- 
cause he  had  heard  my  name  in  connection  with  a  fight  the 
transport  I  came  over  in  had  with  two  French  privateers." 

"Oh,  yes,  I  remember  now,"  the  other  said;  "  I  had  for- 
gotten that  the  name  was  O'Connor.  I  remember  all  about 
it  now.  He  told  us  the  story  at  Vigo,  and  you  were  put  in 
general  orders  by  Sir  Arthur.  I  know  the  chief  spoke  very 
highly  about  your  conduct  in  that  affair.  It  is  just  like  him 
to  remember  it,  and  to  pick  you  out  to  take  Andrews'  place. 
Well,  you  fairly  won  it,  which  is  more  than  one  can  say  for 
most  staff  appointments,  which  are  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of 
a  hundred  the  result  of  pure  favouritism  or  interest. 

"Well,  O'Connor,  I  am  very  glad  to  have  you  on  the 
staff.  You  see,  it  makes  a  lot  of  difference,  when  there  are 
only  two  of  us,  that  we  should  like  each  other.  I  own  I 
have  not  done  anything  as  yet  to  get  any  credit,  for  at  Vimi- 
era  it  was  just  stand  up  and  beat  them  back,  and  I  had  not  a 
single  message  to  carry,  and,  of  course,  at  Rolica  our  brigade 
was  not  in  it ;  but  I  hope  I  shall  get  a  turn  some  day. 
Then  it  was  your  father  who  was  badly  wounded  ?  " 


THE   ADVANCE  123 

"  Yes  ;  I  saw  him  off  to  England  four  days  ago.  I  hope 
that  he  will  be  able  to  rejoin  before  long,  but  it  is  not  certain 
yet  that  the  wound  won't  bring  on  permanent  lameness.  I 
am  very  anxious  about  it,  especially  as  he  has  now  got  his 
step,  and  it  would  be  awfully  hard  on  him  to  leave  the  service 
just  as  he  has  got  field-officer's  rank." 

"  Yes,  it  would  be  hard.  However,  I  hope  that  the  sea- 
voyage  and  English  air  will  set  him  up  again." 

Presently  one  of  the  officers  who  were  in  front  turned  and 
said  :  "  The  general  wishes  you  to  ride  back  along  the  line, 
Mr.  Trevor,  and  report  whether  the  intervals  between  the 
regiments  are  properly  kept,  and  also  as  to  how  the  baggage- 
waggons  are  going  on." 

As  Trevor  turned  to  ride  back  the  general  cantered  on, 
followed  by  the  three  officers  and  the  four  troopers  who 
served  as  orderlies.  Two  miles  ahead  they  came  to  a  bridge 
across  a  torrent.  The  road,  always  a  bad  one,  had  been  com- 
pletely cut  up  by  the  passage  of  the  provision  and  ammuni- 
tion carts  going  to  the  front,  and  was  now  almost  impass- 
able. 

"Will  you  please  to  ride  back,  Mr.  O'Connor,  and  re- 
quest the  colonel  of  the  leading  regiment  to  send  on  the  pio- 
neers and  a  company  of  men  at  the  double  to  clear  the  road 
and  make  it  passable  for  the  waggons. ' ' 

The  work  was  quickly  done.  While  some  men  filled  up 
the  deep  ruts,  others  cut  down  shrubs  and  bushes  growing  by 
the  river  bank,  tied  them  into  bundles,  and  put  them  across 
the  narrow  road,  and  threw  earth  and  stones  upon  them,  and 
in  half  an  hour  from  the  order  being  given  the  bugle  sounded 
the  advance.  The  head  of  the  column  had  been  halted  just 
before  it  reached  the  bridge,  and  the  men  fell  out,  many  of 
them  running  down  to  the  stream  to  refill  their  water-bottles. 
As  the  bugle  sounded  they  at  once  fell  in  again,  and  the  col- 


124  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

limn  got  into  motion.  General  Fane  and  his  staff  remained 
at  the  bridge  until  the  waggons  had  all  crossed  it. 

"  It  is  not  much  of  a  job,"  Fane  said.  "Of  course  the 
four  regiments  passing  over  it  flattened  the  earth  well  down, 
but  the  waggons  have  cut  it  all  up  again.  The  first  heavy 
shower  will  wash  all  the  earth  away,  and  in  a  couple  of  days 
it  will  be  as  bad  as  before.  There  are  plenty  of  stones  down 
in  the  river,  but  we  have  no  means  of  breaking  up  the  large 
ones,  or  of  carrying  any  quantity  of  small  ones.  A  few  hun- 
dred sappers  and  engineers,  with  proper  tools,  would  soon  go 
a  long  way  towards  making  the  road  fairly  fit  for  traffic,  but 
nothing  can  be  done  without  tools  and  wheel-barrows,  or  at 
least  hand-barrows  for  carrying  stones.  You  see,  the  men 
wanted  to  use  their  blankets,  but  the  poor  fellows  will  want 
them  badly  enough  before  long,  and  those  contractors'  goods 
would  go  all  to  pieces  by  the  time  they  had  carried  half 
a  dozen  loads  of  stones.  At  any  rate,  we  will  content  our- 
selves with  making  the  road  passable  for  our  own  waggons, 
and  the  troops  who  come  after  us  must  do  the  same.  By  the 
way,  Mr.  O'Connor,  you  have  not  got  your  kit  yet." 

"  No,  sir ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  with  the  regi- 
mental baggage,  and  I  will  get  it  when  we  halt  to-night." 

' '  Do  so, "  the  general  said.  ' '  Of  course  it  can  be  carried  with 
ours,  but  I  should  advise  you  always  to  take  a  change  of  clothes 
in  your  valise,  and  a  blanket  strapped  on  with  your  greatcoat. ' ' 

"  I  have  Mr.  Andrews'  blanket,  sir.  It  was  strapped  on 
when  I  mounted,  and  I  did  not  notice  it." 

"  That  is  all  right.  The  store  blankets  are  very  little  use 
for  keeping  off  rain,  but  we  all  provided  ourselves  with  good 
thick  horse-cloths  before  leaving  England.  They  are  a  great 
deal  warmer  than  blankets,  and  are  practically  water-proof. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Andrews  told  his  servant  to  strap  it 
on  as  usual. ' ' 


THE   ADVANCE  125 

Many  and  many  a  time  during  the  campaign  had  Terence 
good  reason  for  thinking  with  gratitude  of  Andrews'  kindly 
thought.  His  greatcoat,  which  like  those  of  all  the  officers  of 
the  regiment,  had  been  made  at  Athlone,  of  good  Irish  frieze 
lined  with  flannel,  would  stand  almost  any  amount  of  rain, 
but  it  was  not  long  enough  to  protect  his  legs  while  lying 
down.  But  by  rolling  himself  in  the  horse-cloth  he  was  able 
to  sleep  warm  and  dry,  when  without  it  he  would  have  been 
half- frozen,  or  soaked  through  with  rain  from  above  and 
moisture  from  the  ground  below.  He  found  that  the  briga- 
dier and  his  staff  carried  the  same  amount  of  baggage  as  other 
officers,  the  only  difference  being  that  the  general  had  a  tent 
for  himself,  his  assistant-adjutant  and  quartermaster  one  be- 
tween them,  while  a  third  was  used  as  an  office-tent  in  the 
day,  and  was  occupied  by  the  two  aides-de-camp  at  night. 

The  baggage-waggon  allotted  to  them  carried  the  three 
tents,  their  scanty  kits,  and  a  box  of  stationery  and  official 
forms,  but  was  mainly  laden  with  musketry  ammunition  for 
the  use  of  the  brigade.  After  marching  eighteen  miles  the 
column  halted  at  a  small  village.  The  tents  were  speedily 
pitched,  rations  served  out,  and  fires  lighted.  The  general 
took  possession  of  the  principal  house  in  the  village  for  the 
use  of  himself  and  his  staff,  and  the  quartermaster-general  ap- 
portioned the  rest  of  the  houses  between  the  officers  of  the 
four  battalions.  The  two  aides-de-camp  accompanied  the 
general  in  his  tour  of  inspection  through  the  camp. 

"  It  will  be  an  hour  before  dinner  is  ready,"  Trevor  said, 
as  they  returned  to  the  house,  "  and  you  won't  be  wanted  be- 
fore that.  I  shall  be  about  if  the  chief  has  any  orders  to 
send  out.  I  don't  think  it  is  likely  that  he  will  have;  he  is 
not  given,  as  some  brigadiers  are,  to  worrying;  and,  besides, 
there  are  the  orderlies  here  to  take  any  routine  orders  out,  so 
you  can  be  off  if  you  like. ' ' 


126  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

Terence  at  once  went  down  to  the  camp  of  the  Mayo  Fusi- 
liers. The  officers  were  all  there,  their  quartermaster  having 
gone  into  the  village  to  fix  their  respective  quarters. 

"Hooray,  Terence,  me  boy!  "  O'Grady  shouted,  as  he 
came  up,  "  we  all  congratulate  you.  Faith,  it  is  a  comfort  to 
see  that  for  once  merit  has  been  recognized.  I  am  sure  that 
there  is  not  a  man  in  the  regiment  but  would  have  liked  to 
have  given  you  a  cheer  as  you  rode  along  this  morning  just 
before  we  started.  We  shall  miss  you,  but  as  you  will  be  up 
and  down  all  day  and  can  look  in  of  an  evening,  it  won't  be 
as  if  you  had  been  put  on  the  staff  of  another  brigade.  As  to 
Dicky  Ryan,  he  is  altogether  down  in  the  mouth,  whether  it 
is  regret  for  your  loss  or  whether  it  is  from  jealousy  at  seeing 
you  capering  about  on  horseback,  while  he  is  tramping  along 
on  foot,  is  more  than  I  know." 

"  If  you  were  not  my  superior  officer,  Captain  O'Grady,  I 
should  make  a  personal  onslaught  on  you,"  Ryan  laughed. 
"  You  will  have  to  mind  how  you  behave  now,  Terence;  the 
brigadier  is  an  awfully  good  fellow,  but  he  is  pretty  strict  in 
matters  of  discipline." 

"  I  will  take  care  of  meself,  Dicky,  and  now  that  you  will 
have  nobody  to  help  you  out  of  your  scrapes,  you  will  have  to 
mind  yourself  too." 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  have  got  a  lift,  Terence,"  Captain 
O'Driscol  said ;  "but  it  is  rather  hard  on  me  losing  a  sub- 
altern just  as  the  campaign  is  beginning  in  earnest." 

"  Menzies  likes  doing  all  the  work,"  Terence  said,  "so  it 
won't  make  so  much  difference  to  you." 

"  It  would  not  matter  if  I  was  always  with  my  company, 
Terence,  but  now,  you  see,  that  I  am  acting  as  field-officer  to 
the  left  wing  till  your  father  rejoins,  it  makes  it  awkward." 

"  I  intend  to  attach  Parsons  to  your  company,  O'Driscol," 
the  colonel  said.  "  Terence  went  off  so  suddenly  this  morn- 


THE   ADVANCE  127 

ing  that  I  had  no  time  to  think  of  it  before  we  marched,  but 
he  shall  march  with  your  company  to-morrow.  You  will  not 
mind,  I  hope,  Captain  Holland?" 

"I  shall  mind,  of  course,  Colonel;  but,  as  O'Driscol's 
company  has  now  really  only  one  officer,  of  course  it  cannot 
be  helped,  and  as  Menzies  is  the  senior  lieutenant,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  can  manage  very  well  with  Parsons,  who  is  very 
well  up  in  his  work." 

"  Thank  you,  Captain  Holland  ;  it  is  the  first  compliment 
that  you  ever  paid  me ;  it  is  abuse  that  I  am  most  accustomed 
to." 

"  It  is  thanks  to  that  that  you  are  a  decent  officer,  Parsons," 
Captain  Holland  laughed.  "  You  were  the  awkwardest  young 
beggar  I  ever  saw  when  you  first  joined,  and  you  have  given 
me  no  end  of  trouble  in  licking  you  into  shape.  How  do  you 
think  you  will  like  your  work,  Terence?  " 

"  I  think  I  shall  like  it  very  much,"  the  lad  replied.  "  The 
other  aide-de-camp,  Trevor,  is  a  very  nice  fellow,  and  every 
one  likes  Fane ;  as  to  Major  Dowdeswell  and  Major  Erring- 
ton,  I  haven't  exchanged  a  word  with  either  of  them,  and 
you  know  as  much  about  them  as  I  do." 

"  Errington  is  a  very  good  fellow,  but  the  other  man  is 
very  unpopular.  He  is  always  talking  about  the  regulations, 
as  if  anyone  cared  a  hang  about  the  regulations  when  one  is 
on  service." 

"  I  expect  that  if  Fane  were  not  such  a  good  fellow  Dow- 
deswell would  make  himself  a  baste  of  a  nuisance,  and  be 
bothering  us  about  pipe-clay  and  buttons,  and  all  sorts  of  rig- 
marole," O'Grady  said;  "  as  if  a  man  would  fight  any  the 
better  for  having  his  belt  white  as  snow  !  ' ' 

"  He  would  not  fight  any  the  better,  O'Grady,  but  the 
regiment  would  do  so,"  the  colonel  put  in.  "  All  these  little 
matters  are  nothing  in  themselves,  but  still  they  have  a  good 


128  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

deal  to  do  with  the  discipline  of  the  regiment ;  there  is  no 
doubt  that  we  are  not  as  smart  in  appearance  as  we  ought  to 
be,  and  that  the  other  regiments  in  the  brigade  show  up  bet- 
ter than  we  do.  It  is  a  matter  that  must  be  seen  to.  I  shall 
inspect  the  regiment  very  carefully  before  we  march  to-mor- 
row." 

There  was  a  little  silence  among  the  group,  but  a  smile  stole 
over  several  of  the  faces.  As  a  rule,  the  colonel  was  very  lax 
in  small  matters  of  this  kind,  but  occasionally  he  thought  it 
necessary  to  put  on  an  air  of  severity,  and  to  insist  upon  the 
most  rigid  accuracy  in  this  respect ;  but  the  fit  seldom  lasted 
beyond  twenty-four  hours,  after  which  things  went  on  pleas- 
antly again.  Some  of  the  officers  presently  sauntered  off  to 
warn  the  colour-sergeants  that  the  colonel  himself  intended  to 
inspect  the  regiment  closely  before  marching  the  next  morn- 
ing, and  that  the  men  must  be  warned  to  have  their  uniforms, 
belts,  and  firearms  in  perfect  order. 

Terence  remained  for  some  little  time  longer  chatting,  and 
then  got  possession  of  his  kit,  which  was  carried  by  Tim 
Hoolan  across  to  his  quarters. 

"  We  are  all  sorry  you've  left  us,  yer  honour,"  that  worthy 
said,  as  he  walked  a  short  distance  behind  Terence;  "the 
rigiment  won't  be  like  itself  widout  you.  Not  that  it  has 
been  quite  the  same  since  you  joined  us  reg'lar,  and  have 
taken  to  behaving  yourself." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  you  impudent  rascal  ?  "  Terence  said, 
with  a  pretence  at  indignation. 

"  No  offence,  yer  honour,  but  faith  the  games  that  you  and 
Mr.  Ryan  and  some  of  the  others  used  to  play,  kept  the  boys 
alive,  and  gave  mighty  contintment  to  the  regiment." 

"  I  was  only  a  lad  then,  Hoolan." 

"  That  was  so,  yer  honour,  and  now  you  are  a  man  and  an 
officer,  it  is  natural  it  should  be  different. ' ' 


THE    ADVANCE  129 

"  Tim  Hoolan,  you  are  a  humbug,"  Terence  said,  laugh- 
ing. 

"  Sorra  a  bit  of  one,  yer  honour.  I  am  not  saying  that  you 
won't  grow  a  bit  more  ;  everyone  says  what  a  fine  man  you 
will  make.  But  sure  ye  saved  our  wing  from  being  captured, 
and  you  would  not  have  us  admit  that,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
a  boy,  a  wing  of  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  would  have  been  captured 
by  the  French.  No,  your  honour,  when  we  tell  that  story 
we  spake  of  one  of  our  officers  who  had  the  idea  that  saved 
the  Sea-horse,  and  brought  thim  two  privateer  vessels  into 
Vigo." 

"  Well,  Tim,  it  is  only  three  months  since  I  joined,  and  I 
don't  suppose  I  have  changed  much  in  that  time  \  but  of 
course  I  cannot  play  tricks  now  as  I  used  to  do,  before  I  got 
my  commission." 

"  That  is  so,  yer  honour  ;  the  rigiment  misses  your  tricks, 
though  they  did  bother  us  a  bit.  Three  times  were  we  turned 
out  at  night,  under  arms,  when  we  were  at  Athlone,  once  on 
a  wet  night  too,  and  stood  there  for  two  hours  till  the  colonel 
found  out  it  was  a  false  alarm,  and  there  was  me  and  Mr. 
Ryan,  and  two  or  three  others  as  was  in  the  secret,  nigh  chok- 
ing ourselves  with  laughter,  to  hear  the  men  cursing  and  swear- 
ing at  being  called  out  of  bed.  That  was  a  foine  time,  yer 
honour. ' ' 

"  Attention,  Tim  !  "  Terence  said,  sharply. 

They  had  now  entered  the  village,  and  the  burst  of  laughter 
in  which  Hoolan  indulged  at  the  thought  of  the  regiment  be- 
ing turned  out  on  a  false  alarm  was  unseemly,  as  he  was  ac- 
companying an  officer.  So  Tim  straightened  himself  up,  and 
then  followed  in  Terence's  footsteps  with  military  precision 
and  stiffness. 

"  There  is  a  time  for  all  things,  Tim,"  the  latter  said,  as  he 
took  the  little  portmanteau  from  him.  "  It  won't  do  to  be 
9 


130  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

laughing  like  that  in  sight  of  head-quarters.  I  can't  ask  you 
to  have  a  drink  now  ;  there  is  no  drink  to  be  had,  but  the 
first  time  we  get  a  chance  I  will  make  it  up  to  you." 

"  All  right,  yer  honour  !  I  was  wrong  entirely,  but  I  could 
not  have  helped  it  if  the  commander-in-chief  had  been  stand- 
ing there. 

Terence  went  up  to  the  attic  that  he  and  Trevor  shared. 
There  was  no  changing  for  dinner,  but  after  a  wash  he  went 
below  again. 

"  You  are  just  in  time,"  Trevor  said,  "  and  we  are  in  luck. 
The  head  man  of  the  village  sent  the  general  a  couple  of  ducks, 
and  they  will  help  out  our  rations.  I  have  been  foraging,  and 
have  got  hold  of  half  a  dozen  bottles  of  good  wine  from  the 
priest. 

"  We  always  try  to  get  the  best  of  things  in  the  village,  if 
they  will  but  part  with  them.  That  is  an  essential  part  of  our 
duties.  To-morrow  it  will  be  your  turn." 

"But  our  servants  always  did  that  sort  of  thing,"  Terence 
said,  in  some  surprise. 

"  I  dare  say,  O'Connor,  but  it  would  not  do  for  the  gen- 
eral's servant  to  be  going  about  picking  up  things.  No  mat- 
ter what  he  paid,  we  should  have  tales  going  about  in  no  time 
of  the  shameful  extortion  practised  by  our  servants,  who  un- 
der threats  compelled  the  peasantry  to  sell  provisions  for  the 
use  of  their  masters  at  nominal  prices." 

"I  did  not  think  of  that,"  Terence  laughed.  "  Yes,  as  the 
Portuguese  have  circulated  scores  of  calumnious  lies  on  less 
foundation,  one  cannot  be  too  particular.  I  will  see  what  I 
can  do  to-morrow." 


A   FALSE   ALARM  131 

CHAPTER   VIII 

A     FALSE     ALARM 

THE  march  was  continued  until  the  brigade  arrived  at 
Almeida,  which  they  reached  on  the  yth  of  November, 
and  Sir  John  Moore  and  the  head-quarters  staff  came  up  on 
the  following  day.  All  the  troops  were  now  assembled  at  that 
place  ;  for  Anstruther,  by  some  misconception  of  orders,  had 
halted  the  leading  division,  instead  of,  as  intended  by  the  gen- 
eral, continuing  his  march  to  Salamanca.  The  condition  of 
the  troops  was  excellent.  Discipline,  which  had  been  some- 
what relaxed  during  the  period  of  inactivity,  was  now 
thoroughly  restored.  The  weather  had  continued  fine,  and 
the  steady  exercise  had  well  prepared  them  for  the  campaign 
which  was  beginning.  Things,  however,  were  in  other  re- 
spects going  on  unfavourably. 

The  Junta  of  Corunna  had  given  the  most  solemn  promises 
that  transport  and  everything  necessary  for  the  advance  of 
Sir  David  Baird's  force  should  be  ready  by  the  time  that  officer 
arrived.  Yet  nothing  whatever  had  been  done,  and  so  con- 
scious were  the  Junta  of  their  shortcomings,  that  when  the  fleet 
with  the  troops  arrived  off  the  port  they  refused  to  allow  them 
to  enter  without  an  order  from  the  central  Junta,  and  fifteen 
days  were  wasted  before  the  troops  could  disembark.  Then  it 
was  found  that  neither  provisions  nor  transport  had  been  pro- 
vided, and  that  nothing  whatever  was  to  be  hoped  for  from  the 
Spanish  authorities.  Baird  was  entirely  unprovided  with  money, 
and  was  supplied  with  ^"8,000  from  Moore's  scanty  military 
chest,  while  at  the  very  time  the  British  agent,  Mr.  Frere,  was 
in  Corunna  with  two  millions  of  dollars  for  the  use  of  the 
Spaniards,  which  he  was  squandering,  like  the  other  British 


132  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

agents,  right  and  left  among  the  men  who  refused  to  put  them- 
selves to  the  slightest  trouble  to  further  the  expedition. 

Spain  was  at  this  time  boasting  of  the  enthusiasm  of  its 
armies,  and  of  the  immense  force  that  it  had  in  the  field,  and 
succeeded  in  persuading  the  English  cabinet  and  the  English 
people  that  with  the  help  of  a  little  money  they  could  alone 
and  unaided  drive  the  French  right  across  the  frontier.  The 
emptiness  of  this  braggadocio,  and  the  utter  incapacity  of  the 
Spanish  authorities  and  generals  was  now  speedily  exposed, 
for  Napoleon's  newly  arrived  armies  scattered  the  Spaniards 
before  them  like  sheep,  and  it  was  only  on  one  or  two  occasions 
that  anything  like  severe  fighting  took  place.  Within  the 
space  of  three  weeks  there  remained  of  the  great  armies  of 
Spain  but  a  few  thousand  fugitives  hanging  together  without 
arms  or  discipline.  Madrid,  the  centre  of  this  pretended  en- 
thusiasm and  patriotism,  surrendered  after  a  day's  pretence  at 
resistance,  and  the  whole  of  the  eastern  provinces  fell,  prac- 
tically without  a  blow,  into  the  hands  of  the  invaders. 

At  present,  however,  Moore  still  hoped  for  some  assistance 
from  the  Spaniards.  He,  like  Baird,  was  crippled  for  want  of 
money,  but  determined  not  to  delay  his  march,  and  sent  agents 
to  Madrid  and  other  places  to  make  contracts  and  raise  money; 
thus  while  the  ministers  at  home  squandered  huge  sums  on  the 
Spaniards,  they  left  it  to  their  own  military  commanders  to 
raise  money  by  means  of  loans  to  enable  them  to  march.  Never 
in  the  course  of  the  military  history  of  England  were  her  oper- 
ations so  crippled  and  foiled  by  the  utter  incapacity  of  her 
government  as  in  the  opening  campaigns  of  the  Peninsular  War. 

While  Baird  was  vainly  trying  to  obtain  transport  at  Corunna, 
a  reinforcement  of  some  five  thousand  Spanish  troops  under 
General  Romana  landed  at  San  Andero,  and,  being  equipped 
from  the  British  stores,  joined  the  Spanish  general,  Blake,  in 
Biscay.  These  troops  had  been  raised  for  the  French  service 


A   FALSE   ALARM  133 

at  the  time  Napoleon's  brother  Joseph  was  undisputed  King  of 
Spain.  They  were  stationed  in  Holland,  and  when  the  insur- 
rection at  home  broke  out,  the  news  of  the  rising  was  sent  to 
them,  and  in  pursuance  of  a  plan  agreed  upon  they  suddenly 
rose,  marched  down  to  a  port  and  embarked  in  English  ships 
sent  to  receive  them,  and  were  in  these  transported  to  the 
northern  coast  of  Spain. 

Sir  David  Baird  was  a  man  of  great  energy,  and,  having 
succeeded  in  borrowing  a  little  more  money  from  Mr.  Frere, 
he  started  on  his  march  to  join  General  Moore.  He  had  with 
great  difficulty  hired  some  country  carts  at  an  exorbitant  rate, 
but  the  number  was  so  small  that  he  was  obliged  to  send  up 
his  force  in  half-battalions,  and  so  was  able  to  proceed  but 
very  slowly. 

Sir  John  Moore  was  still  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  situation 
in  Spain.  The  jealousy  among  the  generals,  and  the  disincli- 
nation of  the  central  Junta  to  appoint  any  one  person  to  a  post 
that  might  enable  him  to  interfere  with  their  intrigues,  had 
combined  to  prevent  the  appointment  of  a  commander-in-chief, 
and  there  was  no  one  therefore  with  whom  Sir  John  could 
open  negotiations  and  learn  what  plans,  if  any,  had  been  decid- 
ed upon  for  general  operations  against  the  advancing  enemy. 

On  the  day  that  Moore  arrived  at  Almeida  Blake  was  in 
full  flight,  pursued  by  a  French  army  50,000  strong,  and 
Napoleon  was  at  Vittoria  with  170,000  troops. 

Of  these  facts  he  was  ignorant,  but  the  letters  that  he  received 
from  Lord  William  Bentinck  and  Colonel  Graham,  exposing 
the  folly  of  the  Spanish  generals,  reached  him.  On  the  nth 
he  crossed  the  frontier  of  Spain,  marching  to  Ciudad-Rodrigo. 
On  that  day  Blake  was  finally  defeated,  and  one  of  the  other 
armies  completely  crushed  and  dispersed.  These  events  left  a 
large  French  army  free  to  act  against  the  British.  Sir  John 
Moore,  however,  did  not  hear  of  this  until  a  week  later.  He 


134  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

knew,  however,  that  the  situation  was  serious ;  and  after  all 
the  reports  of  Spanish  enthusiasm,  he  was  astonished  to  find 
that  complete  apathy  prevailed,  that  no  effort  was  made  to 
enroll  the  population,  or  even  to  distribute  the  vast  quantity 
of  British  muskets  stored  up  in  the  magazines  of  the  cities. 

The  general  arrived  at  Salamanca  with  4,000  British  infan- 
try. The  French  cavalry  were  at  Valladolid,  but  three  marches 
distant.  On  the  i8th  more  troops  had  arrived,  and  on  the  23d 
12,000  infantry  and  six  guns  were  at  Salamanca.  But  Moore 
now  knew  of  the  defeat  of  Blake,  and  that  the  French  army 
that  had  crushed  him  was  free  to  advance  against  Salamanca. 
But  he  did  not  yet  know  of  the  utter  dispersal  of  the  Asturian 
army,  or  that  the  two  armies  of  Castanos  and  Palafox  were 
also  defeated  and  scattered  beyond  any  attempt  at  rallying, 
and  that  their  conquerors  were  also  free  to  march  against  him. 
Although  ignorant  of  the  force  with  which  Napoleon  had 
entered  Spain,  and  having  no  idea  of  its  enormous  strength, 
he  knew  that  it  could  not  be  less  than  80,000  men,  and  that  it 
could  be  joined  by  at  least  30,000  more. 

His  position  was  indeed  a  desperate  one.  Baird  was  still 
twenty  marches  distant,  his  cavalry  and  artillery  still  far  away. 
It  would  require  another  five  days  to  bring  the  rear  of  his 
own  army  to  Salamanca,  as  only  a  small  portion  could  come 
forward  each  day,  owing  to  want  of  transport ;  and  yet,  while 
in  this  position  of  imminent  danger,  the  Spanish  authorities, 
through  Mr.  Frere  and  other  agents,  were  violently  urging  an 
advance  to  Madrid. 

General  Moore  was  indeed  in  a  position  of  imminent  danger; 
but  the  lying  reports  as  to  the  strength  of  the  Spanish  army 
induced  him  for  a  moment  to  make  preparations  for  such  a 
movement.  When,  however,  he  learned  the  utter  ^overthrow 
and  dispersal  of  the  whole  of  the  Spanish  armies,  he  saw  that 
nothing  remained  but  to  fall  back,  if  possible,  upon  Portugal. 


A    FALSE    ALARM  135 

It  was  necessary,  however,  that  he  should  remain  at  Sala- 
manca until  Hope  should  arrive  with  the  guns,  and  the  army 
be  in  a  position  to  show  a  front  to  the  enemy.  Instructions  had 
been  previously  sent  to  Hope  to  march  to  the  Escurial.  Hope 
had  endeavoured  to  find  a  road  across  the  mountains  of  Ciudad- 
Rodrigo,  but  the  road  was  so  bad  that  he  dared  not  venture 
upon  it,  as  the  number  of  horses  was  barely  sufficient  to  drag 
the  guns  and  ammunition  waggons  along  a  good  road.  He 
therefore  kept  on  his  way  until  he  reached  the  Escurial ;  but 
after  advancing  three  days  farther  towards  Madrid,  he  heard  of 
the  utter  defeat  of  the  Spaniards  and  the  flight  of  their  armies. 
His  cavalry  outposts  brought  in  word  that  more  than  4,000 
cavalry  were  but  twelve  miles  away,  and  that  other  French 
troops  were  at  Segovia  and  other  places.  The  prospect  of  his 
making  his  way  to  join  Sir  John  Moore  seemed  well-nigh  hope- 
less; but,  with  admirable  skill  and  resolution,  Hope  succeeded 
in  eluding  some  of  his  foes,  in  checking  others  by  destroying 
or  defending  bridges,  and  finally  joined  the  main  force  without 
the  loss  of  any  of  the  important  convoy  of  guns  and  ammu- 
nition that  he  was  escorting. 

The  satisfaction  of  the  troops  at  the  arrival  of  the  force  that 
had  been  regarded  as  lost  was  unbounded.  Hitherto,  unpro- 
vided as  they  were  with  artillery  and  cavalry,  they  could  have 
fought  only  under  such  disadvantages  as  would  render  defeat 
almost  inevitable,  for  an  enemy  could  have  pounded  them  with 
artillery  from  a  distance  beyond  their  musket  range,  and  they 
could  have  made  no  effectual  reply  whatever.  His  cavalry 
could  have  circled  round  them,  cut  their  communications,  and 
charged  down  on  their  lines  in  flank  and  rear  while  engaged 
with  his  infantry.  Now  every  man  felt  that  once  again  he 
formed  part  of  an  army,  and  that  that  army  could  be  relied 
upon  to  beat  any  other  of  equal  numbers. 

Terence  had  enjoyed  the  march  to  Salamanca.     The  fine 


136  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

weather  had  broken  up,  and  heavy  rains  had  often  fallen,  but 
his  thick  coat  kept  him  dry  except  in  the  steadiest  downpours ; 
while  on  one  or  two  occasions  only  the  general  and  his  staff 
had  failed  to  find  quarters  available.  As  they  proceeded  they 
gradually  closed  up  with  the  troops  forming  a  part  of  the  same 
division,  and  at  Almeida  came  under  the  command  of  General 
Fraser,  whose  division  was  made  complete  by  their  arrival. 
Up  to  this  point  the  young  aide-de-camp's  duties  had  been 
confined  solely  to  the  work  of  the  brigade — to  seeing  that  the 
regiments  kept  their  proper  distances,  that  none  of  the  wag- 
gons loitered  behind,  and  that  the  roads  were  repaired,  where 
absolutely  necessary,  for  the  baggage  to  pass. 

In  the  afternoon  he  generally  rode  forward  with  Major  Er- 
rington,  the  quartermaster-general  of  the  brigade,  to  examine 
the  place  fixed  upon  for  the  halt,  to  apportion  the  ground 
between  the  regiments,  and  ascertain  the  accommodation  to  be 
obtained  in  the  village.  Two  orderlies  accompanied  them, 
each  carrying  a  bundle  of  light  rods.  With  these  the  ground 
was  marked  off,  a  card  with  the  name  of  the  regiment  being 
inserted  in  a  slit  at  the  end  of  the  rod ;  the  village  was  then 
divided  in  four  quarters  for  the  accommodation  of  the  officers. 
But  beyond  fixing  the  name  of  each  regiment  to  the  part 
assigned  to  it,  no  attempt  was  made  to  allot  any  special  quar- 
ters to  individual  officers,  this  being  left  for  the  regimental 
quartermaster  to  do  on  the  arrival  of  the  troops. 

When  the  column  came  up  Terence  led  each  regiment  to 
the  spot  marked  off,  and  directed  the  baggage-waggons  to  their 
respective  places.  While  he  was  doing  this,  Trevor,  with  the 
orderlies,  saw  the  head-quarters  baggage  carried  to  the  house 
chosen  for  the  general's  use,  and  that  the  place  was  made  as 
comfortable  as  might  be,  and  then  endeavoured  to  add  to 
the  rations  by  purchases  in  the  village.  Fane  himself  always 
remained  with  the  troops  until  the  tents  were  erected,  and 


A   FALSE   ALARM  137 

they  were  under  cover,  the  rations  distributed,  and  the  fires 
lighted.  The  latter  operation  was  often  delayed  by  the 
necessity  of  fetching  wood  from  a  distance,  the  wood  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  having  been  cut  down  and  burned 
either  by  the  French  on  their  advance,  or  by  the  British 
regiments  ahead. 

He  then  went  to  his  quarters,  where  he  received  the  reports 
of  the  medical,  commissariat,  and  transport  officers,  wrote  a 
report  of  the  state  of  the  road  and  the  obstacles  that  he  had 
encountered,  and  sent  it  back  by  an  orderly  to  the  officer  com- 
manding the  six  guns  which  were  following  a  day's  march 
behind  him.  These  had  been  brought  along  with  great  labour, 
it  being  often  necessary  to  take  them  off  their  carriages  and 
carry  them  up  or  down  difficult  places,  while  the  men  were 
frequently  compelled  to  harness  themselves  to  ropes  and  aid 
the  horses  to  drag  the  guns  and  waggons  through  the  deep 
mud.  Between  the  arrival  of  the  troops  and  dinner  Terence 
had  his  time  to  himself,  and  generally  spent  it  with  his 
regiment. 

"  Never  did  I  see  such  a  country,  Terence,"  O'Grady  com- 
plained to  him  one  day.  "  Go  where  you  will  in  ould  Oirland, 
you  can  alwaj-s  get  a  jugful  of  poteen,  a  potful  of  'taties, 
and  a  rasher  of  bacon ;  and  if  it  is  a  village,  a  fowl  and 
eggs.  Here  there  are  not  even  spirits  or  wine ;  as  for  a 
chicken,  I  have  not  seen  the  feather  of  one  since  we  started, 
and  I  don't  believe  the  peasants  would  know  an  egg  if  they 
saw  it." 

"  Nonsense,  O'Grady  !  If  we  were  to  go  off  the  main  road 
we  should  be  able  to  buy  all  these  things,  barring  the  poteen, 
and  maybe  the  potatoes,  but  you  could  get  plenty  of  onions 
instead.  You  must  remember  that  the  French  army  came 
along  here,  and  I  expect  they  must  have  eaten  nearly  every- 
thing up  on  their  way,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  Anstruther's 


138  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

brigade  gleaned  all  they  left.  As  we  marched  from  the  Mon- 
dego  we  found  the  villagers  well  supplied — better  a  good  deal 
than  places  of  the  same  size  would  be  in  Ireland — except  at 
our  first  halting-place." 

"  I  own  that,  although  Hoolan  sometimes  fails  to  add  to  our 
rations,  we  have  not  been  so  badly  off,  Terence.  He  goes  out 
with  two  or  three  more  of  the  boys  directly  we  halt,  laving 
the  other  servants  to  get  the  tents  ready,  and  he  generally 
brings  us  half  a  dozen  fish,  sometimes  a  dozen,  that  he  has 
got  out  of  the  stream. 

"  He  is  an  old  hand,  is  Tim,  and  if  he  can't  get  them  for 
dinner  he  gets  them  for  breakfast.  He  catches  them  with 
night-lines  and  snares,  and  all  sorts  of  poaching  tricks.  I 
know  he  bought  a  bag  with  four  or  five  pounds  of  lime  at 
Torres  Vedras,  and  managed  to  smuggle  it  away  in  the  regi- 
mental baggage.  I  asked  him  what  it  was  for,  and  the  rascal 
tipped  me  a  wink,  as  much  as  to  say,  Don't  ask  no  questions, 
master ;  and  I  believe  that  he  drops  a  handful  into  a  likely 
pool  when  he  comes  across  one.  I  have  never  dared  to  ask 
him,  for  my  conscience  would  not  let  me  countenance  such  an 
unsportsmanlike  way  of  getting  round  the  fish." 

"I  don't  think  that  there  is  much  harm  in  it  under  the 
present  circumstances,"  Terence  laughed.  "It  is  not  sport, 
but  it  is  food.  I  am  afraid,  Tim,  that  you  must  have  been 
poaching  a  good  deal  at  home  or  you  would  never  have 
thought  of  buying  lime  before  starting  on  this  march." 

"I  would  scorn  to  take  in  an  Oirish  fish,  yer  honour!" 
Hoolan  said,  indignantly.  "  But  it  seems  tome  that  as  the 
people  here  are  trating  us  in  just  as  blackguardly  a  manner  as 
they  can,  shure  it  is  the  least  we  can  do  to  catch  their  fish  any 
way  we  can,  just  to  pay  them  off." 

"  Well,  looking  at  it  in  that  light,  Tim,  I  will  say  no  more 
against  the  practice.  I  don't  think  I  could  bring  myself  to 


A   FALSE   ALARM  139 

lime  even  Portuguese  water,  but  my  conscience  would  not 
trouble  me  at  eating  fish  that  had  been  caught  by  somebody 
else." 

"  I  will  bear  it  in  mind,  yer  honour,  and  next  time  we 
come  on  a  good  pool  a  dish  of  fine  fish  shall  be  left  at  your 
quarters,  but  yer  honour  must  not  mintion  to  the  gineral  where 
you  got  them  from.  Maybe  his  conscience  in  the  matter  of 
ateing  limed  fish  would  be  more  tender  than  your  own,  and 
it  might  get  me  into  trouble." 

"  I  will  take  care  about  that,  Tim  ;  at  any  rate,  I  will  try 
and  manufacture  two  or  three  hooks,  and  when  we  halt  for  a 
day  will  try  and  do  a  little  fishing  on  my  own  account. ' ' 

11 1  will  make  you  two  or  three,  Mr.  O'Connor.  I  made  a 
couple  for  Mr.  Ryan,  and  he  caught  two  beauties  yesterday 
evening." 

"  Thank  you,  Hoolan.  Fond  as  I  am  of  fishing,  I  wonder 
it  did  not  strike  me  before.  I  can  make  a  line  by  plaiting 
some  office  string,  with  twisted  horse-hair  instead  of  gut." 

"  I  expect  that  that  is  just  what  Mr.  Ryan  did,  yer  honour. 
I  heard  the  adjutant  using  powerful  language  this  morning 
because  he  could  not  find  a  ball  of  twine. ' ' 

After  this  Terence  generally  managed  to  get  an  hour's  fish- 
ing before  the  evening  twilight  had  quite  faded  away ;  and  by 
the  aid  of  a  long  rod  cut  on  the  river  bank,  a  line  manu- 
factured by  himself,  and  Hoolan' s  hook  baited  with  worms, 
he  generally  contrived  to  catch  enough  fish  to  supplement  the 
ordinary  fare  at  the  following  morning's  breakfast. 

"  This  is  a  welcome  surprise,  Trevor,"  the  brigadier  said  the 
first  time  the  fish  appeared  at  table.  "  I  thought  I  smelt  fish 
frying,  but  I  felt  sure  I  must  be  mistaken.  Where  on  earth 
did  you  get  them  from  ?  ' ' 

"  It  is  not  my  doing,  General,  but  O'Connor's.  I  was  as 
much  surprised  as  yourself  when  I  saw  Burke  squatting  over 


140  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

the  fire  frying  three  fine  fish.  I  asked  him  where  he  had 
stolen  them.  He  told  me  that  Mr.  O'Connor  brought  them 
in  at  eight  o'clock  yesterday  evening." 

"Where  did  you  get  them  from,  O'Connor?" 

"  I  caught  them  in  the  stream  that  we  crossed  half  a  mile 
back,  sir.  I  found  a  likely  pool  a  few  hundred  yards  down 
it,  and  an  hour's  work  there  gave  me  those  three  fish.  They 
stopped  biting  as  soon  as  it  got  dark." 

"  What  did  you  catch  them  with  ?  " 

Terence  explained  the  nature  of  his  tackle. 

* '  Capital !  You  have  certainly  given  us  a  very  pleasant 
change  of  food,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  continue  the  prac- 
tice whenever  there  is  a  chance. ' ' 

11  There  ought  often  to  be  one,  General.  We  cross  half  a 
dozen  little  mountain  streams  every  day,  and  the  villages  are 
generally  built  close  to  one.  I  don't  suppose  I  should  have 
thought  of  it,  if  I  had  not  found  that  some  of  the  men  of  my 
regiment  have  been  supplying  the  mess  with  them.  I  hope 
to  do  better  in  future,  for  going  over  the  ground  where 
some  of  the  troops  in  front  of  us  have  bivouacked  I  came 
upon  some  white  feathers  blowing  about,  and  I  shall  try  to 
tie  a  fly.  That  ought  to  be  a  good  deal  more  killing  than  a 
worm  when  the  light  begins  to  fade." 

"  You  have  been  a  fisherman,  then,  at  home?  " 

"  Yes,  sir ;  I  did  a  good  deal  of  fishing  round  Athlone,  and 
was  taught  to  tie  my  own  flies.  I  wish  I  had  a  packet  of 
hooks — the  two  one  of  our  fellows  made  for  me  are  well 
enough  for  worms,  but  they  are  rather  clumsy  for  flies." 

"  I  used  to  be  fond  of  fishing  myself,"  Fane  said  ;  "  but  I 
have  always  bought  my  tackle,  and  I  doubt  whether  I  should 
make  much  hand  at  it,  if  left  to  my  own  devices.  We  are 
not  likely  to  be  able  to  get  any  hooks  till  we  get  to  Almeida, 
but  I  should  think  you  would  find  some  there." 


A    FALSE   ALARM  141 

"  I  shall  be  able  to  get  some  wire  to  make  them  with,  no 
doubt,  sir." 

"  I  fancy  after  we  have  left  Almeida  you  won't  find  many 
opportunities  of  fishing,  O'Connor.  We  shall  have  other 
work  on  hand  then,  and  shall,  I  hope,  be  able  to  buy  what 
we  want;  at  any  rate,  we  shall  have  as  good  a  chance  of 
doing  so  as  others,  while  along  this  road  there  is  nothing  to 
be  had  for  love  or  money,  and  the  peasants  would  no  doubt 
be  glad  to  sell  us  anything  they  have,  but  they  are  living  on 
black  bread  themselves;  and,  indeed,  the  greater  part  have 
moved  away  to  less-frequented  places.  No  doubt  they  will 
come  back  again  as  soon  as  we  have  all  passed,  but  how  long 
they  will  be  allowed  to  live  in  peace  and  quietness  is  more 
than  I  can  say.  As  long  as  it  is  only  our  troops  who  come 
along  they  have  nothing  much  to  complain  of,  for  they  can 
sell  everything  they  have  to  dispose  of  at  prices  they  never 
dreamt  of  before  ;  but  they  complain  bitterly  of  the  French, 
who  ate  their  fruit  and  drank  their  wine,  killed  their  pigs  and 
fowls,  appropriated  their  cattle  and  horses,  and  they  thought 
themselves  lucky  to  escape  with  their  lives.  You  see  there 
are  very  few  men  about  here ;  they  have  all  gone  off  to  join 
one  or  other  of  the  Portuguese  bands. ' ' 

"  I  fancy  these  Portuguese  fellows  will  turn  out  useful  some 
day,  General,"  Major  Errington  said.  "They  are  stout 
fellows,  and  though  I  don't  think  the  townspeople  would  be 
of  any  good,  the  peasantry  ought  to  make  good  soldiers  if 
they  were  well  drilled  and  led." 

"  That  is  a  very  large  if,"  Fane  laughed.  "  I  see  no  signs 
of  any  leader,  and  unless  we  could  lend  them  a  few  hundred 
non-commissioned  officers  I  don't  see  where  their  drill  in- 
structors are  to  come  from.  Still,  I  have  more  hope  of  them 
than  I  have  of  the  Spaniards.  Those  men  under  Trant  were 
never  tried  much  under  fire,  but  they  certainly  improved  in 


142  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

discipline  very  much  in  the  short  time  they  were  with  us.  If 
we  could  but  get  rid  of  all  the  Portuguese  authorities  and 
take  the  people  in  hand  ourselves,  we  ought  to  be  able  to 
turn  out  fifty  thousand  good  fighting  troops  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months,  but  so  long  as  things  go  on  as  they  are  I  see  no 
hope  of  any  efficient  aid  from  them. ' ' 

At  Almeida  Terence  managed  to  procure  some  hooks. 
They  were  clumsily  made,  but  greatly  superior  to  anything 
that  he  could  turn  out  himself.  He  was  also  able  to  procure 
some  strong  lines,  but  the  use  of  flies  seemed  to  be  altogether 
unknown.  However,  during  his  stay  he  made  half  a  dozen 
different  patterns,  and  with  these  in  a  small  tin  box  and  a  coil 
of  line  stowed  away  at  the  bottom  of  one  of  his  holsters,  he 
felt  that  if  opportunity  should  occur  he  ought  to  be  able  to 
have  fair  sport.  He  had  suffered  a  good  deal  during  the 
heavy  rains,  which  came  on  occasionally,  from  the  fact  that 
his  infantry  cloak  was  not  ample  enough  to  cover  his  legs 
when  riding.  He  was  fortunate  enough  here  to  be  able  to 
buy  a  pair  of  long  riding-boots,  and  with  these  and  a  pair  of 
thick  canvas  trousers,  made  by  one  of  the  regimental  tailors, 
and  coming  down  just  below  the  knee,  he  felt  that  in  future 
he  could  defy  the  rain. 

At  Salamanca  there  were  far  better  opportunities  of  the 
officers  supplementing  their  outfits.  Landing  on  the  Mondego 
early  in  August,  they  had  made  provision  against  the  heat, 
but  had  brought  no  outfit  at  all  suited  for  wear  in  winter,  and 
all  seized  the  opportunity  of  providing  themselves  with  warm 
under-garments,  had  linings  sewn  into  greatcoats,  and  other- 
wise prepared  for  the  cold  which  would  shortly  set  in.  The 
greater  part  of  the  troops  were  here  quartered  in  the  convents 
and  other  extensive  buildings,  and  as  Fane's  brigade  was  one 
of  the  first  to  arrive  they  enjoyed  a  short  period  of  well-earned 
rest.  Terence  had  by  this  time  picked  up  a  good  deal  of  Por- 


A   FALSE   ALARM  143 

tuguese,  and  was  able  to  make  himself  pretty  well  understood 
by  the  Spanish  shopkeepers.  He,  as  well  as  the  other  officers, 
was  astonished  and  disgusted  at  the  lethargy  that  prevailed 
when,  as  all  now  knew,  the  great  Spanish  armies  were  scat- 
tered to  the  winds,  and  large  bodies  of  French  troops  were 
advancing  in  all  directions  to  crush  out  the  last  spark  of 
resistance. 

The  officers  of  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  had  established  a  mess, 
and  Terence  often  dined  there.  He  was  always  eagerly  ques- 
tioned as  to  what  was  going  to  be  done. 

"I  can  assure  you,  O'Grady,"  he  said,  one  day,  "  that 
aides-de-camp  are  not  admitted  to  the' confidence  of  the  officer 
commanding-in-chief.  I  know  no  more  as  to  Sir  John's 
intentions  than  the  youngest  drummer-boy.  I  suppose  that 
everything  will  depend  upon  the  weather,  and  whether  Gen- 
eral Hope,  with  the  artillery  and  cavalry,  manages  to  join  us. 
If  he  does,  I  suppose  we  shall  fight  a  battle  before  we  fall 
back.  If  he  does  not,  I  suppose  we  shall  have  to  fall  back 
without  fighting,  if  the  French  will  let  us." 

"  I  wish,  Terence,  you  would  give  these  lazy  Spaniards  a 
good  fright,  just  as  you  gave  the  people  at  Athlone.  Faith, 
I  would  give  a  couple  of  months'  pay  to  see  them  regularly 
scared." 

"  If  I  were  not  on  the  staff  I  might  try  it,  O'Grady,  but  it 
would  never  do  for  me  to  try  such  a  thing  now. ' ' 

Dick  Ryan,  who  was  standing  by,  winked  significantly, 
and  in  a  short  time  he  and  Terence  were  talking  eagerly 
together  in  a  corner  of  the  room. 

"Who  is  to  know  you  are  a  staff- officer,  Terence?"  the 
latter  urged.  "  Isn't  it  an  infantry  uniform  that  you  are 
wearing?  and  ain't  there  hundreds  of  infantry  officers  here? 
It  was  good  fun  at  Athlone,  but  I  don't  think  that  many  of 
them  believed  there  was  any  real  danger.  It  would  be  alto- 


144  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

gather  different  here  ;  they  are  scared  enough  as  it  is,  though 
they  walk  about  with  their  cloaks  wrapped  round  them  and 
pretend  to  be  mighty  confident." 

"  Let  us  come  and  talk  it  over  outside,  Dick.  It  did  not 
much  matter  before  if  it  had  been  discovered  we  had  a  hand 
in  it.  Of  course  the  colonel  would  have  given  us  a  wigging, 
but  at  heart  he  would  have  been  as  pleased  at  the  joke  as 
any  of  us.  But  it  is  a  different  affair  here." 

Going  out,  they  continued  their  talk  and  arranged  their 
plans.  Late  the  following  night  two  English  officers  rushed 
suddenly  into  a  drinking-shop  close  to  the  gate  through  which 
the  road  to  Valladolid  passed. 

"  The  French  !  the  French  !  "  one  exclaimed.  "  Run  for 
your  lives  and  give  the  alarm  !  " 

The  men  all  leapt  to  their  feet,  rushed  out  tumultuously, 
and  scattered  through  the  streets,  shouting  at  the  top  of  their 
voices:  "  The  French  are  coming!  the  French  are  coming! 
Get  up,  or  you  will  all  be  murdered  in  your  beds  !  ' ' 

The  alarm  spread  like  wildfire,  and  Terence  and  Ryan  made 
their  way  back,  by  the  shortest  line,  to  the  room  where  most 
of  the  officers  were  still  sitting,  smoking  and  chatting. 

"  Any  news,  O'Connor?  "  the  colonel  asked. 

"  Nothing  that  I  have  heard  of,  Colonel.  I  thought  I  would 
drop  in  for  a  cigar  before  turning  in." 

A  few  minutes  later  Tim  Hoolan  entered. 

"  There  is  a  shindy  in  the  town,  your  honour,"  he  said  to 
the  colonel.  "  Meself  does  not  know  what  it  is  about;  but 
they  are  hallooing  and  bawling  fit  to  kill  themselves." 

One  of  the  officers  went  to  the  window  and  threw  it  up. 

"  Hoolan  is  right,  Colonel ;  there  is  something  the  matter. 
There — "  he  broke  off  as  a  church  bell  pealed  out  with  loud 
and  rapid  strokes. 

"  That  is  the  alarm,  sure  enough  I  "  the  colonel  exclaimed, 


A   FALSE   ALARM  145 

"  Be  off  at  once,  gentlemen,  and  get  the  men  up  and  under 
arms." 

"I  must  be  off  to  the  general's  quarters!"  Terence  ex- 
claimed, hastily  putting  on  his  greatcoat  again. 

"The  divil  fly  away  with  them,"  O'Grady  grumbled,  as  he 
hastily  finished  the  glass  before  him;  "  sorrow  a  bit  of  peace 
can  I  get  at  all,  at  all,  in  this  bastely  country." 

Terence  hurried  away  to  his  quarters.  A  score  of  church 
bells  were  now  pealing  out  the  alarm.  From  every  house  men 
and  women  rushed  out  panic-stricken,  and  eagerly  questioned 
each  other.  All  sorts  of  wild  reports  were  circulated. 

"  The  British  outposts  have  been  driven  in  ;  the  Valladolid 
gate  has  been  captured ;  Napoleon  himself,  with  his  whole 
army,  is  pouring  into  the  town." 

The  shrieks  of  frightened  women  added  to  the  din,  above 
which  the  British  bugles  calling  the  troops  to  arms  could  be 
heard  in  various  quarters  of  the  city. 

"Oh,  here  you  are,  Mr.  O'Connor!  "  General  Fane  ex- 
claimed, as  he  hurried  in.  "Mr.  Trevor  has  just  started  for 
the  convent ;  he  may  be  intercepted,  and  therefore  do  you 
carry  the  same  message ;  the  brigade  is  to  get  under  arms  at 
once,  and  to  remain  in  readiness  for  action  until  I  arrive. 
From  what  I  can  gather  from  these  frightened  fools,  the  French 
have  already  entered  the  town.  If  the  convent  is  attacked,  it 
is  to  be  defended  until  the  last.  I  am  going  to  head-quarters 
for  orders." 

A  good  deal  alarmed  at  the  consequences  of  the  tumult  that 
he  and  Dick  Ryan  had  excited,  Terence  made  his  way  through 
the  streets  "at  a  run ;  his  progress,  however,  was  impeded  by 
the  crowd,  many  of  whom  seized  him  as  he  passed  and 
implored  him  to  tell  them  the  news.  He  observed  that  not  a 
weapon  was  to  be  seen  among  the  crowd ;  evidently  resistance 
was  absolutely  unthought  of.  Trevor  had  reached  the  convent 
10 


146  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

before  him.      The  four  regiments  had  already  gathered  there 
under  arms. 

"  Have  you  any  orders,  Mr.  O'Connor?"  Colonel  Cor- 
coran asked,  eagerly,  for  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  happened  to  be 
formed  up  next  the  gate  of  the  convent. 

"No,  sir ;  only  to  repeat  those  brought  by  Mr.  Trevor,  as 
the  general  thought  that  he  might  be  intercepted  on  the  way. 
The  troops  are  to  remain  here  in  readiness  until  he  arrives.  If 
attacked,  they  are  to  hold  the  convent  until  the  last." 

"  Have  you  seen  any  signs  of  the  French? " 

"  None,  whatever,  Colonel." 

"  Did  you  hear  any  firing?  " 

"No,  sir;  but  there  was  such  an  uproar — what  with  the 
church  bells,  everyone  shouting,  and  the  women  screaming — 
that  I  don't  suppose  I  should  have  heard  it  unless  it  had  been 
quite  close." 

"We  thought  we  heard  musketry,"  the  colonel  replied, 
"  but  it  might  have  been  only  fancy.  There  is  such  a  hulla- 
baloo in  the  city  that  we  might  not  have  heard  the  fire  of 
small-arms,  but  I  think  that  we  must  have  heard  artillery." 

In  ten  minutes  Fane  with  his  staff  galloped  in.  "  The 
brigade  will  march  down  towards  the  Valladolid  gate,"  he 
said.  "  If  you  encounter  any  enemies,  Colonel  Corcoran, 
you  will  at  once  occupy  the  houses  on  both  sides  of  the  street 
and  open  fire  upon  them  from  the  windows  and  roofs ;  the 
other  regiments  will  charge  them.  At  present,"  he  went  on, 
as  the  colonel  gave  the  order  for  the  regiment  to  march,  "  we 
can  obtain  no  information  as  to  the  cause  of  this  uproar.  An 
officer  rode  in,  just  as  I  was  starting,  from  Anstruther's  force, 
encamped  outside  the  walls,  asking  for  orders,  and  reporting 
that  his  outposts  have  seen  no  signs  of  the  enemy.  I  believe 
it  is  a  false  alarm  after  all,  and  we  are  marching  rather  to  reas- 
sure the  populace  than  with  any  idea  of  meeting  the  enemy." 


A    FALSE   ALARM  147 

The  troops  marched  rapidly  through  the  streets,  making 
their  way  without  ceremony  through  the  terrified  crowd. 
They  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when  the  bells  of  the 
churches  one  by  one  ceased  their  clamour,  and  a  hush  suc- 
ceeded the  din  that  had  before  prevailed.  When  the  head  of 
the  column  reached  the  gate,  they  saw  Sir  John  Moore  and 
his  staff  sitting  there  on  horseback.  Fane  rode  up  to  him  for 
orders. 

"It  is,  as  I  fancied,  wholly  a  false  alarm,"  the  general  said. 
"  How  it  could  have  started  I  have  no  idea.  I  have  had 
another  report  from  Anstruther ;  all  is  quiet  at  the  outposts, 
and  there  is  no  sign  whatever  of  the  enemy.  There  is  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  march  the  troops  back  to  barracks.  How- 
ever, I  am  not  sorry,  for  possibly  the  scare  may  wake  the  au- 
thorities up  to  the  necessity  of  taking  some  steps  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  town." 

Terence  rode  back  with  General  Fane  to  his  quarters. 

"  I  cannot  make  out,"  Trevor  said,  as  they  went,  "  how  the 
scare  can  have  begun  ;  everything  was  quiet  enough.  I  was 
just  thinking  of  turning  in  when  we  heard  a  shouting  in  the 
streets.  In  three  minutes  the  whole  town  seemed  to  have  gone 
mad,  and  I  made  sure  that  the  French  must  be  upon  us ;  but 
I  could  not  make  out  how  they  could  have  done  so  without 
our  outposts  giving  the  alarm.  Where  were  you  when  it 
began?" 

"  I  was  in  the  mess-room  of  the  Mayos,  when  one  of  the 
servants  ran  in  to  say  that  there  was  a  row.  Directly  after- 
wards the  alarm-bells  began  to  ring,  the  colonel  at  once  gave 
orders  for  the  regiment  to  be  got  under  arms,  and  I  ran  back 
to  the  general  for  orders  ;  and  I  must  have  passed  you  some- 
where on  the  road.  Did  you  ever  see  such  cowards  as  these 
Spaniards  ?  Though  there  are  arms  enough  in  the  town  for 
every  man  to  bear  a  musket — and  certainly  the  greater  por- 


148  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

tion  of  them  have  weapons  of  some  sort  or  other — I  did  not 
see  a  man  with  arms  of  any  kind  in  his  hand." 

11 1  noticed  the  same  thing,"  Trevor  said.  "  It  is  disgust- 
ing. It  was  evident  that  the  sole  thought  that  possessed  them 
was  as  to  their  own  wretched  lives.  I  have  no  doubt  that,  if 
they  could  have  had  their  willl,  they  would  have  disarmed  all 
our  troops,  in  order  that  no  resistance  whatever  should  be 
offered.  And  yet  only  yesterday  the  fellows  were  all  bragging 
about  their  patriotism,  and  the  bravery  that  would  be  shown 
should  the  French  make  their  appearance.  It  makes  one  sick 
to  be  fighting  for  such  people." 

The  following  afternoon  Terence  went  up  to  the  convent. 

"  Well,  O'Connor,  have  you  heard  how  it  all  began?  "  the 
colonel  asked,  as  he  went  into  the  mess-room. 

"No  one  seems  to  know  at  all,  Colonel.  The  authorities 
are  making  inquiries,  but,  as  far  as  I  have  heard,  nothing  has 
taken  place  to  account  for  it." 

"  It  reminds  me,"  the  colonel  said,  shutting  one  eye  and 
looking  fixedly  at  Terence,  "  of  a  certain  affair  that  took 
place  at  Athlone." 

"  I  was  thinking  the  same  myself,"  Terence  replied,  quietly, 
"  only  the  scare  was  a  good  deal  greater  here  than  it  was 
there ;  besides,  a  good  many  of  the  townspeople  in  Athlone 
did  turn  out  with  guns  in  their  hands,  whereas  here,  I  believe 
every  man  in  the  town  hid  his  gun  in  his  bed  before  running 
out." 

"  I  always  suspected  you  of  having  a  hand  in  that  matter, 
Terence." 

"  Did  you,  Colonel  ?  "  Terence  said,  in  a  tone  of  surprise. 
"  Well,  as,  fortunately,  I  was  sitting  here  when  this  row  be- 
gan, you  cannot  suspect  me  this  time." 

"  I  don't  know  ;  you  and  Ryan  came  in  together,  which 
was  suspicious  in  itself,  and  it  was  not  two  minutes  after  you 


THE   RETREAT  149 

had  come  in  that  the  rumpus  began.  Just  give  me  a  wink, 
lad,  if  you  had  a  finger  in  the  matter.  You  know  you  are 
safe  with  me;  besides,  ain't  you  a  staff-officer  now,  and  out- 
side my  jurisdiction  altogether  ?  " 

"Well,  Colonel,  a  wink  does  not  cost  anything,"  Terence 
said,  "  so  here  is  to  ye." 

He  exchanged  a  wink  with  the  colonel,  who  burst  into  a 
fit  of  laughter  so  loud  that  he  startled  all  the  other  officers, 
who  at  once  came  up  to  hear  the  joke. 

"  It  is  just  a  little  story  that  Terence  has  been  telling  me," 
the  colonel  said,  when  he  had  recovered  his  breath,  "  about 
the  scare  last  night,  and  how  a  young  woman,  with  next  to 
nothing  on  her,  threw  her  arms  round  his  neck  and  begged 
him  to  save  her.  The  poor  young  fellow  blushed  up  to  his 
eyelids  with  the  shame  of  it  in  the  public  streets  1  " 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  RETREAT 

O'GRADY  asked  no  questions,  but  presently  whispered  to 
Terence :  "  Faith,  ye  did  it  well,  me  boy." 

"  Did  what  well,  O'Grady  ?  " 

"  You  need  not  tell  me  about  it,  Terence.  I  was  expecting 
it.  Didn't  I  spake  to  ye  the  day  before  about  it,  and  didn't 
I  feel  sure  that  something  would  come  of  it?  When  that  row 
began  last  night,  I  looked  at  you  hard  and  saw  you  wink  at 
that  young  spalpeen,  Dicky  Ryan  ;  and  sure  all  the  time  that 
we  were  standing  there,  formed  up,  I  well-nigh  burst  the  but- 
tons off  me  coatee  in  holding  in  me  laughter,  when  everyone 
else  was  full  of  excitement. 

"  '  Are  you  ill,  O'Grady?'  the  colonel  said,  for  I  had  to 


150  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

sit  meself  down  on  some  steps  and  rock  meself  to  and  fro  to 
aise  meself.  '  Is  it  sick  ye  are  ?  '  'A  sudden  pain  has  saised 
me,  Colonel,'  says  I,  'but  I  will  be  all  right  in  a  minute.' 
*  Take  a  dram  out  of  me  flask,'  says  he ;  '  something  must 
have  gone  wrong  wid  ye.'  I  took  a  drink — " 

"  That  I  may  be  sure  you  did,"  Terence  interrupted. 

" — And  thin  told  him  that  I  felt  better ;  but  as  we  marched 
down  through  the  crowd  and  saw  the  fright  of  the  men,  and 
the  women  screaming  in  their  night-gowns  at  the  windows, 
faith,  I  well-nigh  choked." 

"  Have  you  spoken  to  Ryan  about  this  absurd  suspicion, 
O'Grady?" 

"  I  spoke  to  him,  but  I  might  as  well  have  spoke  to  a  brick 
wall.  Divil  a  thing  could  I  get  out  of  him.  How  did  you 
manage  it  at  all,  lad  ?  " 

"How  could  I  manage  it?"  Terence  said,  indignantly. 
"No,  no,  O'Grady;  I  know  you  did  make  some  remark 
about  that  scare  at  Athlone,  and  said  it  would  be  fun  to  have 
one  here.  I  was  a  little  shocked  at  hearing  such  a  thing  from, 
as  you  often  say,  a  superior  officer,  and  it  certainly  appears  to 
me  that  it  was  you  who  first  broached  the  idea.  So  I  have 
much  more  right  to  feel  a  suspicion  that  you  had  a  hand  in 
the  carrying  of  it  out  than  for  you  to  suspect  me." 

"Well,  Terence,"  O'Grady  said,  in  an  insinuating  way, 
"  I  won't  ask  you  any  questions  now,  and  maybe  some  day 
when  you  have  marched  away  from  this  place,  you  will  tell  me 
the  ins  and  outs  of  the  business." 

"  Maybe,  O'Grady,  and  perhaps  you  will  also  confess  to 
me  how  you  managed  to  bring  the  scare  about." 

"  Go  along  wid  you,  Terence,  it  is  yourself  knows  better 
than  anyone  else  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  I  will 
never  forgive  you  until  you  make  a  clean  breast  of  it  to  me." 

"  We  shall  see  about  it,"  Terence  laughed.     "Anyhow, 


THE    RETREAT  151 

if  you  allude  to  the  subject  again,  I  shall  feel  it  my  duty  to 
inform  the  colonel  of  my  reasons  for  suspecting  that  you  were 
concerned  in  spreading  those  false  reports  last  night." 

"It  was  first-rate,  wasn't  it?"  Dick  Ryan  said,  as  he 
joined  Terence,  when  the  latter  left  the  mess-room. 

"  It  was  good  fun,  Dicky ;  but  I  tell  you,  for  a  time  I  was 
quite  as  much  scared  as  anyone  else.  I  never  thought  that  it 
would  have  gone  quite  so  far.  When  it  came  to  all  the  troops 
turning  out,  and  Sir  John  and  everyone,  I  felt  that  there 
would  be  an  awful  row  if  we  were  ever  found  out. ' ' 

"  It  was  splendid,  Terence.  I  knew  that  we  could  not  be 
found  out  when  we  had  not  told  a  soul.  Did  you  ever  see 
such  a  funk  as  the  Spaniards  were  all  in,  and  after  all  their 
bragging  and  the  airs  that  they  had  given  themselves.  Our 
men  were  so  savage  at  their  cowardice,  that  I  believe  they 
would  have  liked  nothing  better  than  an  order  to  pitch  into 
them.  And  didn't  the  women  yell  and  howl  ?  It  is  the  best 
lark  we  have  ever  had." 

"  It  is  good  fun  to  look  back  at,  Dicky,  but  I  shall  be  glad 
when  we  are  out  of  this.  The  Spanish  authorities  are  making 
all  sorts  of  inquiries,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  will  get 
hold  of  some  of  the  men  in  that  wine-shop,  and  it  will  come 
out  that  two  British  officers  started  the  alarm." 

"  What  if  it  did  ?  "  Ryan  said.  "  There  were  only  two 
wretched  candles  burning  in  the  place,  and  they  could  not 
have  got  a  fair  sight  at  us,  and  indeed  they  all  jumped  up  and 
bolted  the  moment  we  spoke.  I  will  bet  that  there  is  not  one 
among  them  who  would  be  able  to  swear  to  us  though  we  were 
standing  before  him  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  if  they  were  ques- 
tioned every  man  would  give  a  different  account  of  what  we 
were  like.  I  have  no  fear  that  they  will  ever  find  us  out. 
Still,  I  shall  be  glad  when  we  are  out  of  this  old  place.  Not 
because  I  am  afraid  about  our  share  in  that  business  being  dis- 


152  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

covered,  but  we  have  been  here  nearly  a  fortnight  now,  and  as 
we  know  there  is  a  strong  French  force  within  ten  miles  of  us, 
I  think  that  it  is  about  time  that  the  fun  began.  You  don't 
think  that  we  are  going  to  retreat,  do  you  ?  ' ' 

"  I  don't  know  any  more  about  it  than  you  do,  Dicky  ; 
but  I  feel  absolutely  sure  that  we  shall  retreat.  I  don't  see  any- 
thing else  for  us  to  do.  Every  day  fresh  news  comes  in  about 
the  strength  of  the  French,  and  as  the  Spanish  resistance  is 
now  pretty  well  over,  and  Madrid  has  fallen,  they  will  all  be 
free  to  march  against  us  ;  and  even  when  Hope  has  joined  us 
we  shall  only  be  about  20,000  strong,  and  they  have,  at  the 
least,  ten  times  that  force.  I  thing  we  shall  be  mighty  lucky 
if  we  get  back  across  the  frontier  into  Portugal  before  they 
are  all  on  us." 

Sir  John  Moore,  however,  was  not  disposed  to  retire  with- 
out doing  something  for  the  cause  of  Spain.  The  French  ar- 
mies had  not  yet  penetrated  into  the  southern  provinces,  and 
he  nobly  resolved  to  make  a  movement  that  would  draw  the 
whole  strength  of  the  French  towards  him,  and  give  time  for 
the  Spaniards  in  the  south  to  gather  the  remains  of  their  ar- 
mies together  and  organize  a  resistance  to  the  French  advance. 
In  view  of  the  number  and  strength  of  the  enemy,  no  more 
heroic  resolution  was  ever  taken  by  a  military  commander, 
and  it  was  all  the  more  to  be  admired,  inasmuch  as  he  could 
hope  to  win  no  victory  that  would  cover  himself  and  his  army 
with  glory,  no  success  that  would  satisfy  the  public  at  home, 
and  at  best  he  could  but  hope,  after  long,  fatiguing,  and  dan- 
gerous marches,  to  effect  his  retreat  from  the  overwhelming 
forces  that  would  be  hurled  against  him. 

While  remaining  at  Salamanca,  Sir  John,  foreseeing  that 
a  retreat  into  Portugal  must  be  finally  carried  out,  took  steps 
to  have  magazines  established  on  two  of  the  principal  routes  to 
the  coast,  that  a  choice  might  be  left  open  to  him  by  which  to 


THE    RETREAT  153 

retire  when  he  had  accomplished  his  main  object  of  diverting 
the  great  French  wave  of  invasion  from  the  south. 

On  the  nth  of  December  the  march  began,  and  for  the  next 
ten  days  the  army  advanced  farther  and  farther  into  the 
country.  So  far  Moore  had  only  Soult's  army  opposing  his 
advance  towards  Burgos,  and  it  might  be  possible  to  strike  a 
heavy  blow  at  that  general  before  Napoleon,  who  was  con- 
vinced that  the  British  must  fall  back  into  Portugal  if  they 
had  not  already  begun  to  do  so,  should  come  up.  He  had 
been  solemnly  assured  that  he  should  be  joined  by  Romana 
with  14,000  picked  men,  but  that  general  had  with  him  but 
5,000  peasants,  who  were  in  such  a  miserable  condition  that 
when  the  British  reached  the  spot  where  the  junction  was  to 
be  effected,  he  was  ashamed  to  show  them,  and  marched  away 
into  Leon. 

The  British,  in  order  to  obtain  forage,  were  obliged  to 
move  along  several  lines  of  route.  Sir  David  Baird's  division 
joined  them  as  they  advanced,  and  when  they  reached  the 
Carrion  their  effective  force  amounted  to  23,583  men,  with 
sixty  pieces  of  artillery.  On  the  French  side,  Soult  had — on 
hearing  of  the  British  advance  to  the  north-east,  by  which,  if 
successful,  they  would  cut  the  French  lines  of  communication 
between  Madrid  and  the  frontier — called  up  all  his  detached 
troops,  and  wrote  to  the  governor  of  Burgos  to  divert  to  his 
assistance  all  troops  coming  along  the  road  from  France,  what- 
ever their  destination  might  be. 

On  the  2ist  Lord  Paget,  with  the  loth  and  i5th  Hussars, 
surprised  a  French  cavalry  force  at  Sahagun,  and  ordered  the 
1 5th  to  turn  their  position  and  endeavour  to  cut  them  off. 
When  with  the  loth  Hussars  Lord  Paget  arrived  in  the  rear 
of  the  village,  he  found  six  hundred  French  dragoons  drawn 
up  and  ready  to  attack  him.  He  at  once  charged  and  broke 
them  and  pursued  them  for  some  distance.  Twenty  were 


154  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

killed,  thirteen  officers  and  154  men  taken  prisoners.  On 
the  23d,  Soult  had  concentrated  his  forces  at  the  town  of 
Carrion,  and  that  night  the  British  troops  were  got  in  motion 
to  attack  them,  the  two  forces  being  about  even  in  numbers ; 
but  scarcely  had  he  moved  forward  when  reports,  both  from 
Romana  and  his  own  spies,  reached  Sir  John  Moore  to  the 
effect  that  his  march  had  achieved  the  object  with  which  it 
was  undertaken.  Orders  had  been  sent  by  Napoleon  for  the 
whole  of  the  French  armies  to  move  at  once  against  the  British, 
while  he  himself,  with  the  troops  at  Madrid,  70,000  strong,  had 
started  by  forced  marches  to  fall  upon  him. 

The  instant  Moore  received  this  information  he  arrested  the 
forward  movement  of  his  troops.  His  object  had  been  attained. 
The  French  invasion  of  the  south  was  arrested,  and  time  given 
to  the  Spaniards.  There  was  nothing  now  but  to  fall  back 
with  all  speed.  It  was  well  indeed  that  he  did  not  carry  out 
his  intention  of  attacking  Soult.  The  latter  had  that  day 
received  orders  from  the  emperor  not  to  give  battle,  but  to  fall 
back,  and  so  tempt  Moore  to  pursue,  in  which  case  his  line  of 
retreat  would  have  been  intercepted  and  his  army  irretrievably 
lost. 

The  order  to  retreat  was  an  unwelcome  one  indeed  to  the 
troops.  For  twelve  days  they  had  marched  through  deep 
snow  and  suffered  fatigues,  privations,  and  hardships.  That 
evening  they  had  expected  to  be  repaid  for  their  exertions  by 
a  battle  and  a  victory  on  the  following  morning,  and  the  order 
to  retreat,  coming  at  such  a  moment,  was  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment indeed. 

They  were,  of  course,  ignorant  of  the  reasons  for  this  sudden 
change,  and  the  officers  shared  the  discontent  of  the  troops, 
a  feeling  that  largely  accounted  for  the  disorders  and  losses 
that  took  place  during  the  retreat. 

Napoleon  led  his  troops  north  with  his  usual  impetuosity. 


THE   RETREAT  155 

The  deep  snow  choked  the  passes  through  the  mountains.  The 
generals,  after  twelve  hours  of  labour,  reported  the  roads 
impracticable,  but  Napoleon  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
column,  and,  amidst  a  storm  of  snow  and  driving  hail,  led 
them  over  the  mountain.  With  tremendous  efforts  he  reached 
Desillas  on  the  26th;  while  Houssaye  entered  Valladolid  on 
the  same  day,  and  Ney,  with  the  6th  corps,  arrived  at  Rio 
Seco. 

Full  of  hope  that  he  had  caught  the  British,  the  emperor 
pushed  on  towards  Barras,  only  to  find  that  he  was  twelve 
hours  too  late.  Moore  had,  the  instant  he  received  the  news, 
sent  back  the  heavy  baggage  with  the  main  body  of  infantry, 
himself  following  more  slowly  with  the  light  brigade  and 
cavalry,  the  latter  at  times  pushing  parties  up  to  the  enemy's 
line  and  skirmishing  with  his  outposts  to  prevent  Soult  from 
suspecting  that  the  army  had  retreated.  On  the  26th  the 
whole  army,  moving  by  different  routes,  approached  the  river 
Esla,  which  they  crossed  in  a  thick  fog,  which  greatly  hin- 
dered the  operation.  A  brigade  remained  on  the  left  bank  to 
protect  the  passage,  for  the  enemy's  cavalry  were  already  close 
at  hand,  and  Soult  was  hotly  pressing  in  pursuit. 

A  strong  body  of  horse  belonging  to  the  emperor's  army 
intercepted  Lord  Paget  near  Mayorga,  but  two  squadrons  of 
the  loth  Hussars  charged  up  the  rising  ground  on  which  they 
had  posted  themselves,  and,  notwithstanding  their  disadvantage 
in  numbers  and  position,  killed  twenty  and  took  a  hundred 
prisoners.  Moore  made  but  a  short  pause  on  the  Esla,  for 
that  position  could  be  turned  by  the  forces  advancing  from  the 
south.  He  waited,  therefore,  only  until  he  could  clear  out 
his  magazines,  collect  his  stragglers,  and  send  forward  his  bag- 
gage. He  ordered  the  bridge  by  which  the  army  had  crossed 
to  be  broken  down,  and  left  Crawford  to  perform  this  duty. 

Short  as  the  retreat  had  been,  it  had  already  sufficed  to 


156  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

damage  most  seriously  the  morale  of  the  army.  The  splendid 
discipline  and  order  that  had  been  shown  during  the  advance 
was  now  gone ;  many  of  the  regimental  officers  altogether 
neglected  their  duties,  and  the  troops  were  insubordinate. 
Great  numbers  straggled,  plundered  the  villages,  and  com- 
mitted excesses  of  all  sorts,  and  already  the  general  had  been 
forced  to  issue  an  order  reproaching  the  army  for  its  conduct, 
and  appealing  to  the  honour  of  the  soldiers  to  second  his 
efforts.  Valiant  in  battle,  capable  of  the  greatest  efforts  on 
the  march,  hardy  in  enduring  fatigue  and  the  inclemency  of 
weather,  the  British  soldier  always  deteriorates  rapidly  when 
his  back  is  turned  to  the  enemy.  Confident  in  his  bravery, 
regarding  victory  as  assured,  he  is  unable  to  understand  the 
necessity  for  retreat,  and  considers  himself  degraded  by  being 
ordered  to  retire,  and  regards  prudence  on  the  part  of  his 
general  as  equivalent  to  cowardice. 

The  armies  of  Wellington  deteriorated  with  the  same  rapidity 
as  this  force,  when  upon  two  occasions  it  was  necessary  to 
retreat  when  threatened  by  overwhelming  forces;  and  yet, 
however  disorganized,  the  British  soldier  recovers  hisdiscipline 
the  instant  he  is  attacked,  and  fiercely  turns  upon  his  pursuers. 
At  the  bridge  across  the  Esla  two  privates  of  the  3d  gave  an 
example  of  splendid  courage  and  determination.  It  was  night. 
Some  of  the  baggage  was  still  on  the  farther  bank,  and  the 
two  men  were  posted  as  sentries  beyond  the  bridge,  their  orders 
being  that  if  an  enemy  appeared,  one  should  fire  and  then  run 
back  to  the  bridge  and  shout  to  warn  the  guard  whether  the 
enemy  were  in  force  or  not.  The  other  was  to  maintain  his 
post  as  long  as  possible. 

During  the  night  the  light  cavalry  of  the  imperial  guard 
rode  down.  Jackson,  one  of  the  sentries,  fired  and  ran  back  to 
give  the  alarm.  He  was  overtaken,  and  received  over  a  dozen 
sabre  cuts ;  nevertheless  he  staggered  on  until  he  reached  the 


•(  WHAT  DO  YOU  MEAN,  TERENCE?      WE  WOULD  HAVE  THRASHED 
THEM  OUT  OF  THEIR  BOOTS  IN  NO  TIME." 


THE   RETREAT  157 

bridge,  and  gave  the  signal.  Walton,  the  other  sentry,  with 
equal  resolution  stood  his  ground  and  wounded  several  of  his 
assailants,  who,  as  they  drew  off,  left  him  unhurt,  although 
his  cap,  knapsack,  belt,  and  musket  were  cut  in  over  twenty 
places,  and  his  bayonet  bent  double. 

Terence  O'Connor's  duties  had  been  light  enough  during 
the  advance,  but  during  the  three  days  of  the  retreat  to  the 
Esla  he  had  been  incessantly  occupied.  He  and  Trevor  had 
both  been  directed  to  ride  backwards  and  forwards  along  the 
line  of  the  brigade  to  see  that  there  was  no  straggling  in  the 
ranks,  and  that  the  baggage  carts  in  the  rear  kept  close  up. 
The  task  was  no  easy  one,  and  was  unpleasant  as  well  as  hard. 
Many  of  the  officers  plodded  sulkily  along,  paying  no  atten- 
tion whatever  to  their  men,  allowing  them  to  straggle  as  they 
chose ;  and  they  were  obliged  to  report  several  of  the  worst 
cases  to  the  brigadier.  With  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  they  had 
less  trouble  than  with  others.  Terence  had,  when  he  joined 
them  at  their  first  halt  after  the  retreat  began,  found  them  as 
angry  and  discontented  as  the  rest  at  the  unexpected  order, 
and  was  at  once  assailed  with  questions  and  complaints. 

He  listened  to  them  quietly,  and  then  said  : 

"  Of  course,  if  you  all  prefer  a  French  prison  to  a  few  days' 
hard  marching,  you  have  good  reason  to  grumble  at  being 
baulked  in  your  wishes ;  that  is  all  I  have  to  say  about  it." 

"What  do  you  mean,  Terence?  "  O'Grady asked,  angrily. 
"  Soult's  force  was  not  stronger  than  ours,  at  least  so  we  heard ; 
and  if  it  had  been  it  would  make  no  difference,  we  would  have 
thrashed  them  out  of  their  boots  in  no  time." 

"  I  dare  say  we  should,  O'Grady,  and  what  then?  " 

"Well,  I  don't  know  what  then,"  O'Grady  said,  after  a 
moment's  silence;  "that  would  have  been  the  general's 
business." 

"  Quite  so;  and  so  is  this.     There  you  would  have  been 


158  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

with  perhaps  a  couple  of  thousand  wounded  and  as  many 
French  prisoners,  and  Napoleon  with  60,000  men  or  so,  and 
Ney  with  as  many  more,  and  Houssaye  with  his  cavalry  division, 
all  in  your  rear  cutting  you  off  from  the  sea.  What  would 
have  been  your  course  then  ?  ' ' 

A  general  silence  fell  upon  the  officers. 

"  Is  that  so?  "  the  colonel  asked  at  last. 

"  That  is  so,"  Terence  said,  gravely.  "All  these  and  other 
troops  are  marching  night  and  day  to  intercept  us.  It  is  no 
question  of  fighting  now.  Victory  over  Soult,  so  far  from 
being  of  any  use,  would  only  have  burdened  us  with  wounded 
and  prisoners,  and  even  a  day's  delay  would  be  absolutely 
fatal.  As  it  is,  it  is  a  question  whether  we  shall  have  time 
to  get  back  to  the  coast  before  they  are  all  posted  in  our 
front.  Every  hour  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  You  all 
know  that  we  have  talked  over  lots  of  times  how  dangerous 
our  position  is.  General  Fane  told  us,  when  the  orders  to 
retreat  were  issued,  that  he  believed  the  peril  to  be  even  more 
imminent  than  we  thought.  We  all  know  when  we  marched 
north  from  Salamanca,  that,  without  a  single  Spaniard  to  back 
us,  all  that  could  be  hoped  for  was  to  aid  Saragossa  and  Seville 
and  Cadiz  to  gather  the  levies  in  the  south  and  prepare  for 
defence,  and  that  erelong  we  should  have  any  number  of 
enemies  upon  us.  That  is  what  has  precisely  happened,  and 
now  there  is  grumbling  because  the  object  has  been  attained, 
and  that  you  are  not  allowed  to  fight  a  battle  that,  whether 
won  or  lost,  would  equally  ruin  us." 

"  Sure  ye  are  right,"  O'Grady  said,  warmly,  "  and  we  are 
a  set  of  omadhouns.  You  have  sense  in  your  head,  Terence, 
and  there  is  no  gainsaying  you.  I  was  grumbling  more  than 
the  rest  of  them,  but  I  won't  grumble  any  more.  Still,  I 
suppose  that  there  is  no  harm  in  hoping  we  shall  have  just  a  bit 
of  fighting  before  we  get  back  to  Portugal." 


THE    RETREAT  159 

"  We  shall  be  lucky  if  we  don't  have  a  good  deal  of  fighting, 
O'Grady,  and  against  odds  that  will  satisfy  even  you.  As  to 
Portugal,  there  is  no  chance  of  our  getting  there.  Ney  will 
certainly  cut  that  road,  and  the  emperor  will,  most  likely,  also 
do  so,  as  you  can  see  for  yourself  on  the  map." 

"  Divil  a  map  have  I  ever  looked  at  since  I  was  at  school," 
O'Grady  said.  "  Then  if  we  can't  get  back  to  Portugal, 
where  shall  we  get  to?  " 

"  To  one  of  the  northern  seaports  ;  of  course,  I  don't  know 
which  has  been  decided  upon  ;  I  don't  suppose  the  general 
himself  has  settled  that  yet.  It  must  depend  upon  the  roads 
and  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  whether  there  is  a  de- 
fensible position  near  the  port  that  we  can  hold  in  case  the 
fleet  and  transports  cannot  be  got  there  by  the  time  we  arrive. ' ' 

"  Faith,  Terence,  ye' re  a  walking  encyclopeydia.  You 
have  got  the  matter  at  your  finger  ends." 

"I  don't  pretend  to  know  anymore  than  anyone  else," 
Terence  said,  with  a  laugh.  "  But  of  course  I  hear  matters 
talked  over  at  the  brigade  mess.  I  don't  think  that  Fane 
knows  more  of  the  general's  absolute  plans  than  you  do.  I 
dare  say  the  divisional  generals  know,  but  it  would  not  go 
further.  Still,  as  Fane  and  Errington  and  Dowdeswell  know 
something  about  war  besides  the  absolute  fighting,  they  can 
form  some  idea  as  to  the  plans  that  will  be  adopted." 

"Well,  Terence,"  the  colonel  said,  "  I  didn't  think  the 
time  was  coming  so  soon  when  I  was  going  to  be  instructed  by 
your  father's  son,  but  I  will  own  that  you  have  made  me  feel 
that  I  have  begun  campaigning  too  late  in  life,  and  that  you 
have  given  me  a  lesson." 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  do  that,  Colonel,"  Terence  said,  a 
good  deal  abashed.  "  It  was  O'Grady  I  was  chiefly  speak- 
ing to." 

"  Your  supeyrior  officer  !  "  O'Grady  murmured. 


160  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"  My  superior  officer,  certainly,"  Terence  went  on,  with  a 
smile ;  "  but  who,  having,  as  he  says,  never  looked  at  a  map 
since  he  left  school — while  I  have  naturally  studied  one  every 
evening  since  we  started  from  Torres  Vedras — can  therefore 
know  no  more  about  the  situation  than  does  Tim  Hoolan. 
But  I  certainly  never  intended  my  remarks  to  apply  to  you, 
Colonel." 

"They  hit  the  mark  all  the  same,  lad,  and  the  shame  is 
mine  and  not  yours.  I  think  you  have  done  us  all  good.  One 
doesn't  care  when  one  is  retreating  for  a  good  reason,  but 
when  one  marches  for  twelve  days  to  meet  an  enemy,  and 
then,  when  just  close  to  him,  one  turns  one's  back  and  runs 
away,  it  is  enough  to  disgust  an  Englishman,  let  alone  an  Irish- 
man. Well,  boys,  now  we  see  it  is  all  right,  we  will  do  our 
duty  as  well  on  the  retreat  as  we  did  on  the  advance,  and 
divil  a  grumble  shall  there  be  in  my  hearing." 

From  that  moment,  therefore,  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  were  an 
example  to  the  brigade.  Any  grumble  in  the  ranks  was  met 
with  a  cheerful  "  Whist,  boys  !  do  you  think  that  you  know 
the  general's  business  better  than  he  does  himself?  It  is  plenty 
of  fighting  you  are  likely  to  get  before  you  have  done,  never 
fear.  Now  is  the  time,  boys,  to  get  the  regiment  a  good 
name.  The  general  knows  that  we  can  fight.  Now  let  him 
see  that  we  can  wait  patiently  till  we  get  another  chance. 
Remember,  the  better  temper  you  are  in,  the  less  you  will  feel 
the  cold." 

So,  laughing  and  joking,  and  occasionally  breaking  into  a 
song,  the  Mayo  Fusiliers  pushed  steadily  forward,  and  the 
colonel  that  evening  congratulated  the  men  that  not  one  had 
fallen  out. 

"  Keep  that  up,  boys,"  he  said.  "  It  will  be  a  proud  day 
for  me  when  we  get  to  our  journey's  end,  wherever  that  may 
be,  to  be  able  to  say  to  the  brigadier  :  '  Except  those  who 


THE   RETREAT  161 

have  been  killed  by  the  enemy,  here  is  my  regiment  just  as  it 
was  when  it  started  from  the  Carrion — not  a  man  has  fallen 
out,  not  a  man  has  straggled  away,  not  a  man  has  made  a 
baste  of  himself  and  was  unfit  to  fall  in  the  next  morning.'  I 
know  them,"  he  said  to  O'Driscol,  as  the  regiment  was  dis- 
missed from  parade.  "  They  will  not  fall  out,  they  will  not 
straggle,  but  if  they  come  to  a  place  where  wine's  in  plenty, 
they  will  make  bastes  of  themselves;  and  after  all,"  he  added, 
"  after  the  work  they  have  gone  through,  who  is  to  blame 
them?" 

At  the  halt  the  next  evening  at  Bembibre  the  colonel's 
forebodings  that  the  men  could  not  be  trusted  where  liquor 
was  plentiful  were  happily  not  verified.  There  were  immense 
wine-vaults  in  the  town.  These  were  broken  open,  and  were 
speedily  crowded  by  disbanded  Spaniards,  soldiers,  camp-fol- 
lowers, muleteers,  women  and  children — the  latter  taking 
refuge  there  from  the  terrible  cold.  The  rear-guard,  to  which 
the  Mayo  regiment  had  been  attached  the  evening  before, 
found  that  Baird's  division  had  gone  on,  but  that  vast  num- 
bers of  drunken  soldiers  had  been  left  behind.  General 
Moore  was  himself  with  the  rear-guard,  and  the  utmost  efforts 
were  made  to  induce  the  drunkards  to  rejoin  their  regiments. 
He  himself  appealed  to  the  troops,  instructing  the  command- 
ers of  the  different  regiments  to  say  that  he  relied  implicitly 
upon  the  soldiers  to  do  their  duty.  The  French  might  at  any 
moment  be  up,  and  every  man  must  be  in  his  ranks.  No 
men  were  to  fall  out  or  to  enter  any  wine-house  or  cellar,  but 
each  should  have  at  once  a  pint  of  wine  served  out  to  him, 
and  as  much  more  before  they  marched  in  the  morning. 

After  the  colonel  read  out  this  order,  he  supplemented 
it  by  saying,  "  Now,  boys,  the  credit  of  the  regiment  is  at 
stake.  It  is  a  big  honour  that  has  been  paid  you  in  choosing 
you  to  join  the  rear-guard,  and  you  have  got  to  show  that  you 


162  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

deserve  it.  As  soon  as  it  can  be  drawn,  you  will  have  your 
pint  of  wine  each,  which  will  be  enough  to  warm  your  ringers 
and  toes.  Wait  here  in  the  ranks  till  you  have  drunk  your 
wine  and  eaten  some  of  the  bread  in  your  haversacks,  and  by 
that  time  I  will  see  what  I  can  do  for  you.  You  will  have 
another  pint  before  starting ;  but  mind,  though  I  hope  there 
isn't  a  mother's  son  who  would  bring  discredit  on  the  regiment, 
I  warn  you  that  I  shall  give  the  officers  instructions  to  shoot 
down  any  man  who  wanders  from  the  ranks  in  search  of 
liquor.  The  French  may  be  here  in  half  an  hour  after  we 
have  started,  and  it  is  better  to  be  shot  than  to  be  sabred 
by  a  French  dragoon,  which  will  happen  surely  enough  to 
every  baste  who  has  drunk  too  much  to  go  on  with  the 
troops. ' ' 

Only  a  few  murmurs  were  heard  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
speech. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,"  the  colonel  said,  "  will  half  a  dozen  of 
you  see  to  the  wine.  Get  hold  of  some  of  those  fellows 
loafing  about  there  and  make  them  roll  out  as  many  barrels 
as  will  supply  a  pint  to  every  man  in  the  regiment,  ourselves 
as  well  as  the  men.  O'Grady,  take  Lieutenant  Horton  and 
Mr.  Haldane  and  two  sergeants  with  you.  Here  is  my  purse. 
Go  through  the  town  and  get  some  bread  and  anything  else 
in  the  way  of  food  that  you  can  lay  your  hands  upon.  And, 
if  you  can,  above  all  things  get  some  tobacco. ' ' 

O'Grady's  search  was  for  a  time  unsuccessful,  as  the  soldiers 
and  camp-followers  had  already  broken  into  the  shops  and 
stores.  In  an  unfrequented  street,  however,  they  came  across 
a  large  building.  He  knocked  at  the  door  with  the  hilt  of  his 
sword.  It  was  opened  after  a  time  by  an  old  man. 

"  What  house  is  this?  " 

"  It  is  a  tobacco  factory,"  he  replied. 

"  Be  jabers,  we  have  come  to  the  right  place.     I   want 


THE   RETREAT  163 

about  half  a  ton  of  it.  We  are  not  robbers,  and  I  will  pay 
for  what  we  take."  Then  another  idea  struck  him.  "  Wait 
a  moment,  I  will  be  back  again  in  no  time.  Horton,  do  you 
stay  here  and  take  charge  of  the  men.  I  am  going  back  to 
the  colonel." 

He  found  on  reaching  the  regiment  that  the  men  were 
already  drinking  their  wine  and  eating  their  bread. 

"I  am  afraid  I  shall  never  keep  them,  O'Grady,"  the 
colonel  said,  mournfully.  "  It  is  scarcely  in  human  nature  to 
see  men  straggling  about  as  full  as  they  can  hold,  and  know 
that  there  is  liquor  to  be  had  for  taking  it  and  not  to  go 
for  it." 

"  It  is  all  right,  Colonel.  I  know  that  we  can  never  keep 
the  men  if  we  turn  them  into  the  houses  to  sleep  ;  but  I  have 
found  a  big  building  that  will  hold  the  whole  regiment,  and 
the  best  of  it  is  that  it  is  a  tobacco  factory.  I  expect  it  is  run 
by  the  authorities  of  the  place,  and  as  we  are  doing  what  we 
can  for  them,  they  need  not  grudge  us  what  we  take ;  and 
faith,  the  boys  will  be  quiet  and  contented  enough,  so  that 
they  do  but  get  enough  to  keep  their  pipes  going,  and  know 
that  they  will  march  in  the  morning  with  a  bit  in  their  knap- 
sacks. ' ' 

"  The  very  thing,  O'Grady  !  Pass  the  word  for  the  regi- 
ment to  fall  in  the  instant  they  have  finished  their  meal. ' ' 

It  was  not  long  before  they  were  ready,  and  in  a  few 
minutes,  guided  by  O'Grady,  the  head  of  the  regiment 
reached  the  building. 

"  Who  is  the  owner  of  this  place?  "  the  colonel  asked  the 
old  man,  who,  with  a  lantern  in  his  hand,  was  still  standing 
at  the  door. 

"  The  Central  Junta  of  the  Province  has  of  late  taken  it, 
your  Excellency. ' ' 

"  Good  !  Then  we  will  be  the  guests  of  the  Central  Junta  of 


164  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

the  Province  for  the  night."  Then  he  raised  his  voice, 
"  Boys,  here  is  a  warm  lodging  for  you  for  the  night,  and 
tobacco  galore  for  your  pipes  ;  and,  for  those  who  haven't  got 
them,  cigars.  Just  wait  until  I  have  got  some  lights,  and 
then  file  inside  in  good  order." 

There  was  no  difficulty  about  this,  for  the  factory  was  in 
winter  worked  long  after  dark  set  in.  In  a  very  few  minutes 
the  place  was  lighted  up  from  end  to  end.  The  troops  were 
then  marched  in  and  divided  amongst  the  various  rooms. 

"  Now,  boys,  tell  the  men  to  smoke  a  couple  of  pipes,  and 
then  to  lie  down  to  sleep.  In  the  morning  each  man  can  put 
as  much  tobacco  into  his  knapsack  and  pockets  as  they  will 
hold,  and  when  we  halt  they  can  give  some  of  it  away  to 
regiments  that  have  not  been  as  lucky  as  themselves." 

The  men  sat  down  in  the  highest  state  of  satisfaction. 
Boxes  of  cigars  were  broken  open,  and  in  a  couple  of  minutes 
almost  every  man  and  officer  in  the  regiment  had  one  alight 
in  his  mouth.  There  were  few,  however,  who  got  beyond  one 
cigar  ;  the  warmth  of  the  place  after  their  long  march  in  the 
snow  speedily  had  its  effect,  and  in  half  an  hour  silence  reigned 
in  the  factory,  save  for  a  murmur  of  voices  in  one  of  the  lower 
rooms  where  the  officers  were  located. 

"O'Grady,  you  are  a  broth  of  a  boy, "  the  colonel  said. 
"  The  men  have  scarce  had  a  smoke  for  the  last  week,  and  it 
will  do  them  a  world  of  good.  We  have  got  them  all  under 
one  roof,  and  there  is  no  fear  that  anyone  will  want  to  get 
out,  and  they  will  fall  in  in  the  morning  as  fresh  as  paint.  Half 
an  hour  before  bugle-call  three  or  four  of  you  had  best  turn 
out  with  a  dozen  men,  and  roll  up  enough  barrels  from  the 
vaults  to  give  them  the  drink  promised  to  them,  before  start- 
ing. Who  will  volunteer?  " 

Half  a  dozen  officers 'at  once  offered  to  go,  and  a  captain 
and  three  lieutenants  were  told  off  for  the  work. 


THE   RETREAT  165 

"  They  know  how  to  make  cigars,  if  they  don't  know  any- 
thing else,"  Captain  O'Driscol  said;  "this  is  a  first-rate 
weed." 

"  So  it  ought  to  be  by  the  brand,"  another  officer  said. 
"  I  took  the  two  boxes  from  a  cupboard  that  was  locked  up. 
There  are  a  dozen  more  like  them,  and  I  thought  it  was  as 
well  to  take  them  out ;  they  are  at  present  under  the  table. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  they  are  real  Havannas,  and  have  prob- 
ably been  got  for  some  grandee  or  other." 

"  He  will  have  to  do  without  them,"  O'Gradysaid,  calmly, 
as  he  lighted  his  second  cigar;  "  they  are  too  good  for  any 
Spaniard  under  the  sun.  And,  moreover,  if  we  did  not  take 
them  you  may  be  sure  that  the  French  would  have  them 
to-morrow,  and  I  should  say  that  the  Central  Junta  of  the 
Province  will  be  mighty  pleased  to  know  that  the  tobacco  was 
smoked  by  their  allies  instead  of  by  the  French." 

"  I  don't  suppose  that  they  will  care  much  about  it  one  way 
or  another,"  O'Driscol  remarked  ;  "  their  pockets  are  so  full 
of  English  gold  that  the  loss  of  a  few  tons  of  tobacco  won't 
affect  them  much.  I  enjoy  my  cigar  immensely,  and  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  for  once  I  have  got  something  out 
of  a  Spaniard — it  is  the  first  thing  since  I  landed." 

"Well,  boys,  we  had  better  be  off  to  sleep,"  the  colonel 
said.  "  I  am  so  sleepy  that  I  can  hardly  keep  my  eyes  open, 
and  you  ought  to  be  worse,  for  you  have  tramped  well-nigh 
forty  miles  to-day.  See  that  the  sentry  at  the  door  keeps 
awake,  Captain  Humphrey  ;  you  are  officer  of  the  day  ;  upon 
my  word  I  am  sorry  for  you.  Tell  him  he  can  light  up  if  he 
likes,  but  if  he  sees  an  officer  coming  round  he  must  get  rid 
of  it.  Mind  the  sentries  are  changed  regularly,  for  I  expect 
that  we  shall  sleep  so  soundly  that  if  all  the  bugles  in  the  place 
were  sounding  an  alarm  we  should  not  hear  them." 

"  All  right,   Colonel !     I   have  got   Sergeant  Jackson   in 


166  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

charge  of  the  reliefs  in  the  passage  outside,  and  I  think  that 
I  can  depend  upon  him,  but  I  will  tell  him  to  wake  me  up 
whenever  he  changes  the  sentries.  I  don't  say  I.  shall  turn 
out  myself,  but  as  long  as  he  calls  me  I  shall  know  that  he  is 
awake,  and  that  it  is  all  right.  I  had  better  tell  him  to  call 
you  half  an  hour  before  bugle-call,  Sullivan,  so  that  you  can 
wake  the  others  and  get  the  wine  here ;  he  mustn't  be  a  min- 
ute after  the  half-hour.  Thank  goodness,  we  don't  have  to 
furnish  the  outposts  to-night." 

In  ten  minutes  all  were  asleep  on  the  floor,  wrapped  in 
their  greatcoats,  the  officer  of  the  day  taking  his  place  next 
the  door  so  that  he  could  be  roused  easily.  Every  hour  one 
or  other  of  the  two  non-commissioned  officers  in  charge  of  the 
guard  in  the  passage  opened  the  door  a  few  inches  and  said 
softly,  "  I  am  relieving  the  sentries,  sir;  "  and  each  time  the 
officer  murmured  assent. 

Sullivan  was  called  at  the  appointed  time,  got  up,  and 
stretched  himself,  grumbling  : 

"  I  don't  believe  that  I  have  been  asleep  ten  minutes." 

On  going  out  into  the  passage,  however,  where  a  light  was 
burning,  his  watch  told  him  that  it  was  indeed  time  to  be 
moving.  He  woke  the  others,  and  with  the  men  went  down 
to  the  cellars.  Here  the  scene  of  confusion  was  great ;  drunken 
men  lay  thickly  about  the  floor,  others  sat,  cup  in  hand,  talk- 
ing, or  singing  snatches  of  song,  Spanish  or  English.  Hastily 
picking  out  enough  unbroken  casks  for  the  purpose,  he  set  the 
men  to  carry  them  up  to  the  street,  and  they  were  then  rolled 
along  to  the  factory.  Just  as  they  reached  the  door  the  bugle- 
call  sounded  ;  the  men  were  soon  on  their  feet,  refreshed  by 
a  good  night's  sleep.  The  casks  were  broached,  and  the  wine 
served  out. 

"It  is  awful,  Colonel,"  Sullivan  said.  "There  will  be 
hundreds  of  men  left  behind.  There  must  have  been  over  that 


CORUNNA  167 

number  in  the  cellar  I  went  into,  and  there  are  a  dozen  others 
in  the  town.     I  never  saw  such  a  disgusting  scene." 

Scarcely  had  they  finished  when  the  assemble  sounded,  and 
the  regiment  at  once  fell-in  outside  the  factory,  every  man 
with  knapsack  and  haversack  bulging  out  with  tobacco.  They 
then  joined  the  rest  of  the  troops  in  the  main  street.  Gen- 
eral Moore  had  made  a  vain  attempt  to  rouse  the  besotted 
men.  A  few  of  those  least  overcome  joined  the  rear-guard, 
but  the  greater  number  were  too  drunk  to  listen  to  orders,  or 
even  to  the  warning  that  the  French  would  be  into  the  town 
as  soon  as  the  troops  marched  out. 


CHAPTER  X 

CORUNNA 

AS  the  confusion  in  the  streets  increased  from  the  pouring 
out  from  the  houses  and  cellars  of  the  camp-followers — 
women  and  children,  together  with  men  less  drunk  than  their 
comrades,  but  still  unable  to  walk  steadily — who  filled  the 
air  with  shouts  and  drunken  execrations,  Colonel  Corcoran 
rode  along  the  line. 

"Just  look  at  that,  boys,"  he  said.  "  Isn't  it  better  for 
you  to  be  standing  here  like  dacent  men,  ready  to  do  your 
duty,  than  to  be  rolling  about  in  a  state  like  those  drunken 
blackguards,  for  the  sake  of  half  an  hour's  pleasure  ?  Sure  it 
is  enough  to  make  every  mother's  son  of  you  swear  off  liquor 
till  ye  get  home  again.  When  the  French  get  inside  the  town 
there  is  not  one  of  the  drunken  bastes  that  won't  be  either 
killed  or  marched  away  a  thousand  miles  to  a  French  prison, 
and  all  for  ha'lf  an  hour's  drink." 

The  lesson  was  indeed  a  striking  one,  and  careless  as  many 


168  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

of  the  men  were,  it  brought  home  to  them  with  greater  force 
than  ever  before  in  their  lives,  not  only  the  folly  but  the  deg- 
radation of  drunkenness.  A  few  minutes  later,  General  Moore, 
who  was  riding  up  and  down  the  line,  inspecting  the  condition 
of  the  men  in  each  regiment,  came  along. 

"  Your  men  look  very  well,  Colonel,"  he  said,  as  he  reached 
the  Fusiliers.  "  How  many  are  you  short  of  your  number  ?  " 

"  Not  a  man,  General ;  I  am  happy  to  say  that  there  was 
not  a  single  one  that  did  not  answer  when  his  name  was 
called." 

"That  is  good,  indeed,"  the  general  said,  warmly.  "I 
am  happy  to  say  that  all  the  regiments  of  the  rear -guard  have 
turned  out  well,  and  shown  themselves  worthy  of  the  trust 
reposed  in  them  ;  none,  however,  can  give  so  good  a  report 
as  you  have  done.  I  selected  your  regiment  to  strengthen 
this  division  from  the  excellent  order  that  I  observed  you  kept 
along  the  line  of  march,  and  I  am  glad  indeed  that  it  has 
shown  itself  so  worthy  of  the  honour.  March  your  regiment 
across  to  the  side  of  the  street,  let  the  others  pass  you,  and  fall 
in  at  the  rear  of  the  column.  I  shall  give  the  Mayo  Fusiliers 
the  post  of  honour,  as  a  mark  of  my  warm  approbation  for  the 
manner  in  which  they  have  turned  out." 

Scarcely  had  the  troops  left  the  town  when  the  French 
cavalry  poured  in.  Now  that  it  was  too  late,  the  sense  of 
danger  penetrated  the  brains  of  the  revellers,  and  the  mob  of 
disbanded  Spanish  and  British  soldiers  and  camp-followers 
poured  out  from  the  cellars.  Few  of  the  soldiers  had  the  sense 
even  to  bring  up  their  muskets.  Most  of  those  who  did  so 
were  too  drunk  to  use  them,  and  the  French  troopers  rode 
through  the  mob,  sabring  them  right  and  left,  and  trampling 
them  under  foot,  and  then,  riding  forward  without  a  pause, 
set  out  in  pursuit  of  the  retiring  columns.  As  they  came  clat- 
tering along  the  road  the  colonel  ordered  the  last  two  com- 


CORUNNA  169 

panics  to  halt,  and  when  the  head  of  the  squadron  was  within 
fifty  yards  of  them,  and  the  troopers  were  beginning  to  check 
their  horses,  a  heavy  volley  was  poured  in,  which  sent  them 
to  the  right-about  as  fast  as  they  had  come,  and  emptied  a 
score  of  saddles.  Then  the  two  companies  formed  fours  again, 
and  went  on  at  the  double  until  they  reached  the  rear  of  the 
column. 

All  day  the  French  cavalry  menaced  the  retreat,  until  Lord 
Paget  came  back  with  a  regiment  of  hussars  and  drove  them 
back  in  confusion,  pursuing  them  a  couple  of  miles,  with  the 
view  of  discovering  whether  they  were  followed  by  infantry. 
Such,  however,  was  not  the  case,  and  the  column  was  not 
further  molested  until  they  reached  Cacabolos,  where  they 
were  halted.  The  rest  of  the  army  had  moved  on,  the  troops 
committing  excesses  similar  to  those  that  had  taken  place  at 
Bembibre,  and  plundering  the  shops  and  houses. 

The  division  marched  over  a  deep  stream  crossed  by  a 
stone  bridge,  and  took  up  their  ground  on  a  lofty  ridge,  the 
ascent  being  broken  by  vineyards  and  stone  walls.  Four 
hundred  men  of  the  rifles  and  as  many  cavalry  were  posted  on 
a  hill  two  miles  beyond  the  river  to  watch  the  roads.  They 
had  scarcely  taken  their  post  when  the  enemy  were  seen  ap- 
proaching, preceded  by  six  or  eight  squadrons  of  cavalry. 
The  rifles  were  at  once  withdrawn,  and  the  cavalry,  believing 
that  the  whole  French  army  was  advancing,  presently  followed 
them,  and,  riding  fast,  came  up  to  the  infantry  just  as  they 
were  crossing  the  bridge. 

Before  all  the  infantry  were  over  the  French  cavalry  came 
down  at  a  furious  gallop,  and  for  a  time  all  was  confusion. 
Then  the  rifles,  throwing  themselves  among  the  vineyards  and 
behind  the  walls,  opened  a  heavy  fire.  The  French  general 
in  command  of  the  cavalry  was  killed,  with  a  number  of  his 
troops,  and  the  rest  of  the  cavalry  fell  back.  A  regiment  of 


170  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

light  infantry  had  followed  them  across  the  bridge,  and  two 
companies  of  the  52d  and  as  many  of  the  Mayo  regiment 
went  down  the  hill  and  reinforced  the  rifles.  A  sharp  fight 
ensued  until  the  main  body  of  the  French  infantry  approached 
the  bridge.  A  battery  of  artillery  opened  upon  them,  and 
seeing  the  strength  of  the  British  division,  and  believing  that 
the  whole  army  was  before  him,  Soult  called  back  his  troops. 
The  voltigeurs  retired  across  the  bridge  again,  and  the  fight 
came  to  an  end.  Between  two  and  three  hundred  men  had 
been  killed  or  wounded. 

As  soon  as  night  came  on  the  British  force  resumed  its 
march,  leaving  two  companies  of  the  rifles  as  piquets  at  the 
bridge.  The  French  crossed  again  in  the  night,  but  after 
some  fighting,  fell  back  again  without  having  been  able  to  as- 
certain whether  the  main  body  of  the  defenders  of  the  posi- 
tion were  still  there.  Later  on  the  rifles  fell  back,  and  at 
daybreak  rejoined  the  main  body  of  the  rear-guard,  which 
had  reached  Becerrea,  eighteen  miles  away.  Here  General 
Moore  received  the  report  from  the  engineers  he  had  sent  to 
examine  the  harbours,  and  they  reported  in  favour  of  Co- 
runna,  which  possessed  facilities  for  defence  which  were  lack- 
ing at  Vigo.  Accordingly  he  sent  off  orders  to  the  fleet, 
which  was  lying  at  the  latter  port,  to  sail  at  once  for  Co- 
runna,  and  directed  the  various  divisions  of  the  army  to  move 
on  that  town. 

The  rear-guard  passed  the  day  without  moving,  enjoying  a 
welcome  rest  after  the  thirty-six  miles  they  had  covered  the 
day  before.  By  this  march  they  had  gained  a  long  start  of 
the  enemy  and  had  in  the  evening  reached  the  town  the 
division  before  them  had  quitted  that  morning.  The  scene  as 
they  marched  along  was  a  painful  one.  Every  day  added  to 
the  numbers  of  the  stragglers.  The  excesses  in  drink  ex- 
hausted the  strength  of  the  troops  far  more  than  did  the 


CORUNNA  171 

fatigue  of  the  marches.  Their  shoes  were  worn  out ;  many 
of  them  limped  along  with  rags  tied  round  their  feet.  Even 
more  painful  than  the  sight  of  these  dejected  and  worn-out 
men  was  that  of  the  camp-followers.  These,  in  addition 
to  their  terrible  hardships  and  fatigue,  were  worn  out  with 
hunger,  and  almost  famished.  Numbers  of  them  died  by  the 
roadside,  others  still  crawled  on  in  silent  misery. 

Nothing  could  be  done  to  aid  these  poor  creatures.  The 
troops  themselves  were  insufficiently  fed,  for  the  evil  conduct 
of  the  soldiers  who  first  marched  through  the  towns  defeated 
all  the  efforts  of  the  commissariat ;  for  they  had  broken  into 
the  bakers'  shops  and  so  maltreated  the  inhabitants  that  the 
people  fled  in  terror,  and  no  bread  could  be  obtained  for  the 
use  of  the  divisions  in  the  rear.  Towards  evening  the  next 
day  the  reserve  approached  Constantina.  The  French  were 
now  close  upon  their  rear.  A  bridge  over  a  river  had  to  be 
crossed  to  reach  the  town,  and  as  there  was  a  hill  within  a 
pistol-shot  of  the  river,  from  which  the  French  artillery  could 
sweep  the  bridge,  Sir  John  Moore  placed  the  riflemen  and 
artillery  on  it.  The  enemy,  believing  that  he  intended  to 
give  battle,  halted,  and  before  their  preparations  could  be 
made  the  troops  were  across  the  bridge,  and  were  joined  by 
the  artillery,  which  had  retired  at  full  speed. 

The  French  advanced  and  endeavoured  to  take  the  bridge. 
General  Paget,  however,  held  the  post  with  two  regiments  of 
cavalry,  and  then  fell  back  to  Lugo,  where  the  whole  army 
was  now  assembled.  The  next  day  Sir  John  Moore  issued  an 
order  strongly  condemning  the  conduct  of  the  troops,  and 
stating  that  he  intended  to  give  battle  to  the  enemy.  The 
news  effected  an  instant  transformation.  The  stragglers  who 
had  left  their  regiments  and  entered  the  town  by  twos  and 
threes  at  once  rejoined  their  corps.  Fifteen  hundred  men 
had  been  lost  during  the  retreat,  of  whom  the  number  killed 


172  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

formed  but  a  small  proportion.  But  the  army  still  amounted 
to  its  former  strength,  as  it  was  here  joined  by  two  fresh  bat- 
talions, who  had  been  left  at  Lugo  by  General  Baird  on  his 
march  from  the  coast.  The  force  therefore  numbered  19,000 
men;  for  it  had  been  weakened  by  some  4,000  of  the  light 
troops  having,  early  in  the  retreat,  been  directed  towards 
other  ports,  in  order  to  lessen  as  far  as  possible  the  strain  on 
the  commissariat. 

The  position  was  a  strong  one,  and  when  Soult  at  mid-day 
came  up  at  the  head  of  12,000  men  he  saw  at  once  that  until 
his  whole  force  arrived  he  could  not  venture  to  attack  it. 
Like  the  British,  his  troops  had  suffered  severely  from  the 
long  marches,  and  many  had  dropped  behind  altogether. 
Uncertain  whether  he  had  the  whole  of  the  British  before 
him,  he  sent  a  battery  of  artillery  and  some  cavalry  forward; 
when  the  former  opened  fire,  they  were  immediately  silenced 
by  a  reply  from  fifteen  pieces.  Then  he  made  an  attack 
upon  the  right,  but  was  sharply  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  from 
three  to  four  hundred  men ;  and,  convinced  now  that  Moore 
was  ready  to  give  battle  with  his  whole  force,  he  drew  off. 

The  next  day  both  armies  remained  in  their  positions. 
Soult  had  been  joined  by  Laborde's  division,  and  had  17,000 
infantry,  4,000  cavalry,  and  50  guns ;  the  English  had 
16,000  infantry,  1,800  cavalry,  and  40  guns.  The  French 
made  no  movement  to  attack,  and  the  British  troops  were 
furious  at  the  delay.  Soult,  however,  was  waiting  until  Ney, 
who  was  advancing  by  another  road,  should  threaten  the 
British  flank  or  cut  the  line  of  retreat.  Moore,  finding 
that  Soult  would  not  fight  alone,  and  knowing  that  Ney  was 
approaching,  gave  the  order  for  the  army  to  leave  its  position 
after  nightfall  and  march  for  Corunna.  He  exhorted  them  to 
keep  good  order,  and  to  make  the  effort  which  would  be  the 
last  demanded  from  them.  It  was  indeed  impossible  for  him 


CORUNNA  173 

to  remain  at  Lugo,  even  if  Ney  had  not  been  close  at  hand, 
for  there  was  not  another  day's  supply  of  bread  in  the  town. 

He  took  every  precaution  for  securing  that  no  errors  should 
take  place  as  to  the  route  to  be  followed  in  the  dark,  for  the 
ground  behind  the  position  was  intersected  by  stone  walls  and 
a  number  of  intricate  lanes.  To  mark  the  right  tracks,  bun- 
dles of  straw  were  placed  at  intervals  along  the  line,  and 
officers  appointed  to  guide  the  columns.  All  these  precau- 
tions, however,  were  brought  to  naught  by  the  ill-fortune  that 
had  dogged  the  general  along  the  whole  line  of  retreat.  A 
tremendous  storm  of  wind  and  rain  set  in,  the  night  was 
pitch  dark,  the  bundles  of  straw  were  whirled  away  by  the 
wind,  and  when  the  army  silently  left  their  post  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  the  task  before  them  was  a  difficult  one  indeed.  All 
the  columns  lost  their  way,  and  one  division  alone  recovered 
the  main  road  ;  the  other  two  wandered  about  all  night,  buf- 
feted by  the  wind,  drenched  by  the  rain,  disheartened  and 
weary. 

Some  regiments  entered  what  shelters  they  could  find,  the 
men  soon  scattered  to  plunder,  stragglers  fell  out  in  hundreds, 
and  at  daybreak  the  remnants  of  the  two  divisions  were  still  in 
Lugo.  The  moment  the  light  afforded  means  of  recovering 
their  position,  the  columns  resumed  their  march,  the  road 
behind  them  being  thickly  dotted  by  stragglers.  The  rear- 
guard, commanded  by  the  general  himself,  covered  the  rear, 
but  fortunately  the  enemy  did  not  come  up  until  evening ;  but 
so  numerous  were  the  stragglers  that  when  the  French  cavalry 
charged,  they  mustered  in  sufficient  force  to  repel  their  attack, 
a  proof  that  it  was  not  so  much  fatigue  as  insubordination 
that  caused  them  to  lag  behind.  The  rear-guard  halted  a 
few  miles  short  of  Friol  and  passed  the  night  there,  which 
enabled  the  disorganized  army  to  rest  and  re-form.  The 
loss  during  this  unfortunate  march  was  greater  than  that  of 


174  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

all  the  former  part  of  the  retreat,  added  to  all  the  losses  in 
action  and  during  the  advance. 

The  next  day  the  army  halted,  as  the  French  had  not 
come  up  in  sufficient  numbers  to  give  battle,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  marched  in  good  order  into  Corunna,  where,  to 
the  bitter  disappointment  of  the  general,  the  fleet  had  not  yet 
arrived.  At  the  time,  Sir  John  Moore  was  blamed  by  the 
ignorant  for  having  worn  out  his  troops  by  the  length  of  the 
marches ;  but  the  accusation  was  altogether  unfounded,  as  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  the  rear-guard — upon  whom  the  full 
brunt  of  the  fighting  had  fallen,  who  had  frequently  been  un- 
der arms  all  night  in  the  snow,  had  always  to  throw  out 
very  strong  outposts  to  prevent  surprises,  and  had  marched 
eighty  miles  in  two  days,  had  suffered  far  more  than  the  other 
troops,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  food  supply  intended  for  all 
had  been  several  times  wasted  and  destroyed  by  the  excesses 
of  those  who  had  preceded  them — yet  who,  when  they 
reached  Corunna,  had  a  much  smaller  number  missing  from 
their  ranks  than  was  the  case  with  the  three  other  divisions. 

After  all  the  exertions  that  had  been  made,  and  the  extra- 
ordinary success  with  which  the  general  had  carried  his  force 
through  a  host  of  enemies,  all  his  calculations  were  baffled  by 
the  contrary  winds  that  delayed  the  arrival  of  the  fleet,  and 
it  remained  but  to  surrender  or  fight  a  battle,  which,  if  won, 
might  yet  enable  the  army  to  embark.  Sir  John  did  not  even 
for  a  moment  contemplate  the  former  alternative.  The  troops 
on  arriving  were  at  once  quartered  in  the  town.  The  inhab- 
itants here,  who  had  so  sullenly  held  aloof  from  Baird's  force 
on  its  arrival,  and  had  refused  to  give  him  the  slightest  aid, 
now  evinced  a  spirit  of  patriotism  seldom  exhibited  by  the 
Spaniards,  save  in  their  defence  of  Saragossa,  and  on  a  few 
other  occasions. 

Although  aware  that  the  army  intended,  if  possible,  to  em- 


CORUNNA  175 

bark,  and  that  the  French  on  entering  might  punish  them  for 
any  aid  given  to  it,  they  cheerfully  aided  the  troops  in  remov- 
ing the  cannon  from  the  sea-face  and  in  strengthening  the  de- 
fences on  the  land  side.  Provisions  in  ample  quantity  were 
forthcoming,  and  in  twenty-four  hours  the  army,  knowing  that 
at  last  they  were  to  engage  the  foe  who  had  for  the  last  fort- 
night hunted  them  so  perseveringly,  recovered  its  confidence 
and  discipline.  This  was  aided  by  the  fact  that  Corunna  had 
large  magazines  of  arms  and  ammunition,  which  had  been 
sent  out  fifteen  months  before,  from  England,  and  were  still 
lying  there,  although  Spain  was  clamouring  for  arms  for  its 
newly  raised  levies. 

To  the  soldiers  this  supply  was  invaluable.  Their  muskets 
were  so  rusted  with  the  almost  constant  downfall  of  rain  and 
snow  of  the  past  month  as  to  be  almost  unserviceable,  and  these 
were  at  once  exchanged  for  new  arms.  The  cartridge-boxes 
were  re-filled  with  fresh  ammunition,  an  abundant  store  served 
out  for  the  guns,  and,  after  all  this,  two  magazines  containing 
four  thousand  barrels  of  powder  remained.  These  had  been 
erected  on  a  hill,  three  miles  from  the  town,  and  were  blown 
up  so  that  they  should  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
The  explosion  was  a  terrible  one,  and  was  felt  for  many  miles 
round.  The  water  in  the  harbour  was  so  agitated  that  the  ship- 
ping rolled  as  if  in  a  storm,  and  many  persons  who  had  gone 
out  to  witness  the  explosion  were  killed  by  falling  fragments. 

The  ground  on  which  the  battle  was  to  take  place  was  unfit 
for  the  operations  of  cavalry.  The  greater  portion  of  the 
horses  were  hopelessly  foundered,  partly  from  the  effects  of 
fatigue,  partly  from  want  of  shoes  ;  for  although  a  supply  of 
these  had  been  issued  on  starting,  no  hammers  or  nails  had 
been  sent,  and  the  shoes  were  therefore  useless.  It  would  in 
any  case  have  been  impossible  to  ship  all  these  animals,  and 
accordingly,  as  a  measure  of  mercy,  the  greater  portion  of 


176  WITH   MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

them  were  shot.  Three  days  were  permitted  Moore  to  make 
his  arrangements,  for  it  took  that  time  for  Soult  to  bring  up 
his  weary  troops  and  place  them  in  a  position  to  give  battle. 
Their  position  was  a  lofty  ridge  which  commanded  that  upon 
which  Sir  John  Moore  now  placed  his  troops,  covering  the 
town.  On  the  right  of  the  French  ridge  there  was  another 
eminence  upon  which  Soult  had  placed  eleven  heavy  guns. 

On  the  evening  of  the  i4th  there  was  an  exchange  of  ar- 
tillery fire,  but  it  led  to  nothing.  That  afternoon  the  sails 
of  the  long-expected  fleet  were  made  out,  and  just  at  nightfall 
it  entered  the  harbour.  The  dismounted  cavalry,  the  sick,  the 
remaining  horses,  and  fifty  guns  were  embarked,  nine  guns 
only  being  kept  on  shore  for  action.  On  the  i5th  Soult 
occupied  himself  in  completing  his  preparations.  Getting  his 
great  guns  on  to  the  rocks  on  his  left,  he  attacked  and  drove 
from  an  advanced  position  some  companies  of  the  5th  Regi- 
ment, and  posted  his  mass  of  cavalry  so  as  to  threaten  the 
British  right,  and  even  menace  its  retreat  to  the  town  from 
the  position  it  held.  Had  the  battle  been  delayed  another 
day,  Sir  John  Moore  had  made  every  preparation  for  embark- 
ing the  rest  of  his  troops  rather  than  await  a  battle  in  which 
even  victory  would  be  worthless,  for  Ney's  corps  would  soon 
be  up.  The  French,  however,  did  not  afford  him  an  oppor- 
tunity of  thus  retiring. 

Terence  O'Connor  speedily  paid  a  visit  to  his  regiment  at 
Corunna,  for  he  had,  of  course,  accompanied  Fane's  brigade 
during  the  retreat.  He  was  delighted  to  find  that  there  had 
been  only  a  few  trifling  casualties  among  the  officers,  and  that 
the  regiment  itself,  although  it  had  lost  some  men  in  the  fight- 
ing that  had  taken  place,  had  not  left  a  single  straggler  behind, 
a  circumstance  that  was  mentioned  with  the  warmest  com- 
mendation by  General  Paget  in  his  report  of  the  doings  of  the 
rear-guard. 


CORUNNA  177 

"  I  was  awfully  afraid  that  it  would  have  been  quite  the 
other  way,"  Terence  said.  "  I  know  how  all  the  three  other 
divisions  suffered,  though  they  were  never  pressed  by  the  en- 
emy, and  had  not  a  shadow  of  excuse  for  their  conduct." 

11  You  did  not  know  us,  me  boy,"  O'Grady  said.  "  I  tell 
ye,  the  men  were  splendid.  I  expect  if  we  had  been  with  the 
others  we  should  have  behaved  just  as  badly ;  but  being  chosen 
for  the  rear-guard  put  our  boys  all  on  their  mettle,  and  every 
man  felt  that  the  honour  of  the  regiment  depended  on  his  good 
conduct.  Then,  too,  we  were  lucky  in  lighting  on  a  big  store 
of  tobacco,  and  tobacco  is  as  good  as  food  and  drink.  The 
men  gave  a  lot  away  to  the  other  regiments,  and  yet  had 
enough  to  last  them  until  we  got  here." 

"Then  they  were  not  above  doing  a  little  plundering," 
Terence  laughed. 

"  Plunder  is  it !  "  O'Grady  repeated,  indignantly.  "  It  was 
a  righteous  action,  for  the  factory  belonged  to  the  Central 
Junta  of  the  Province,  and  it  was  just  stripping  the  French  of 
their  booty  to  carry  it  away.  Faith,  it  was  the  most  merito- 
rious action  of  the  campaign." 

"  Have  you  got  a  good  cigar  left,  O'Grady?  " 

"  Oh,  you  have  taken  to  smoking,  have  you?  " 

"  I  was  obliged  to,  to  keep  my  nose  warm.  On  the  march, 
Fane  and  the  major  and  Errington  all  smoked,  and  they 
looked  so  comfortable  and  contented  that  I  felt  it  was  my  duty 
to  keep  them  company." 

"  I  have  just  two  left,  Terence,  so  we  will  smoke  them  to- 
gether, and  I  have  got  a  bottle  of  dacent  spirits.  Think  of 
that,  me  boy ;  thirty-two  days  without  spirits  !  They  will 
never  believe  me  when  I  go  home  and  tell  'em  I  went  without 
it  for  thirty-two  mortal  days." 

"  Well,  you  have  had  wine,  O'Grady." 

"  It's  poor  stuff  by  the  side  of  the  cratur,  still  I  am  not  say- 
ia 


178  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

ing  that  it  wasn't  a  help.  But  it  was  cold  comfort,  Terence, 
a  mighty  cold  comfort. ' ' 

"  You  are  looking  well  on  it,  anyhow.  And  how  is  the 
wound?  " 

"  Och,  I  have  nigh  forgot  I  ever  had  one,  save  when  it 
comes  to  ateing.  Tim  has  to  cut  my  food  up  for  me,  and  I 
never  sit  down  to  a  male  without  wishing  bad  cess  to  the 
French.  When  we  get  back  I  will  have  a  patent  machine  for 
holding  a  fork  fixed  on  somehow.  It  goes  against  me  grain 
to  have  me  food  cut  up  as  if  I  was  a  baby  ;  if  it  wasn't  for 
that  I  should  not  miss  my  hand  one  way  or  the  other.  In  fact, 
on  the  march  it  has  been  a  comfort  that  I  have  only  had  five 
fingers  to  freeze,  instead  of  ten.  There  is  a  compensation  in 
all  things.  So  we  are  going  to  fight  them  at  last  ?  There  is  no 
chance  of  the  fleet  coming  to  take  us  off  before  that,  I  hope?  " 
he  asked,  anxiously,  "  for  we  should  all  break  our  hearts  if  we 
were  obliged  to  go  without  a  fight." 

"  I  don't  think  there  is  any  chance  of  that,  O'Grady,  though 
I  should  be  very  glad  if  there  were.  I  am  not  afraid  of  the 
fighting,  but  we  certainly  sha'n't  win  without  heavy  loss,  and 
every  life  will  be  thrown  away,  seeing  that  we  shall,  after  all, 
have  to  embark  when  the  battle  is  over.  Ney,  with  50,000 
men,  is  only  two  or  three  marches  away. 

"  Well,  Dicky,  how  do  you  do?  "  he  asked,  as  Ryan  came 
up. 

"  I  am  well  enough,  Mr.  Staff  Officer.  I  needn't  ask  after 
yourself,  for  you  have  been  riding  comfortably  about,  while 
we  have  been  marched  right  off  our  legs.  Forty  miles  a  day, 
Terence,  and  over  such  roads  as  they  have  in  this  country;  it 
is  just  cruelty  to  animals." 

"I  would  rather  have  been  with  you,  Dicky,  than  see  to 
the  horrible  confusion  that  has  been  going  on.  Why,  as  soon 
as  the  day's  march  was  over  we  had  to  set  to  work  to  go 


CORUNNA  179 

about  trying  to  keep  order.  A  dozen  times  I  have  been 
nearly  shot  by  drunken  rascals  whom  I  was  trying  to  get  to 
return  to  their  corps.  Worse  still,  it  was  heartrending  to 
see  the  misery  of  the  starving  women  and  camp-followers.  I 
would  rather  have  been  on  outpost  duty,  with  Soult's  cavalry 
hovering  round,  ready  to  charge  at  any  moment." 

"It  is  all  very  well  to  say  that,  Terence !  "  O'Grady  ex- 
claimed. "But  wait  until  you  try  it  a  bit,  my  boy.  I 
had  five  nights  of  it,  and  that  widout  a  drop  of  whisky  to 
cheer  me.  It  was  enough  to  have  made  Samson  weep,  let 
alone  a  man  with  only  one  hand,  and  a  sword  to  hold  in  it, 
and  a  bad  could  in  his  head.  It  was  enough  to  take  the 
heart  out  of  any  man  entoirely,  and  if  it  hadn't  been  for  the 
credit  of  the  regiment,  I  could  often  have  sat  down  on 
a  stone  and  blubbered.  It  is  mighty  hard  for  a  man  to  keep 
up  his  spirits  when  he  feels  the  mortal  heat  in  him  oozing  out 
all  over,  and  his  fingers  so  cold  that  it  is  only  by  looking 
that  one  knows  one  has  got  a  sword  in  them,  and  you  don't 
know  whether  you  are  standing  on  your  feet  or  on  your  knee- 
bones,  and  feel  as  if  your  legs  don't  belong  to  you,  but  are 
the  property  of  some  poor  chap  who  has  been  kilt  twenty-four 
hours  before.  Och,  it  was  a  terrible  time !  and  a  captain's 
pay  is  too  small  for  it,  if  it  was  not  for  the  divarsion  of  a 
scrimmage  now  and  then  !  " 

"  How  about  an  ensign's  pay  ?  "  Ryan  laughed.  "  I  think 
that  on  such  work  as  we  have  had,  O'Grady,  the  pay  of  all 
the  officers,  from  the  colonel  down,  ought  to  be  put  together 
and  equally  divided." 

"I  cannot  say  whether  I  should  approve  the  plan,  Ryan, 
until  I  have  made  an  intricate  calculation,  which,  now  I  am 
comfortable  at  last,  would  be  a  sin  and  a  shame  to  ask  me 
brain  to  go  through  ;  but  as  my  present  idea  is  that  I  should 
be  a  loser,  I  may  say  that  your  scheme  is  a  bad  one,  and  not 


180  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

to  say  grossly  disrespectful  to  the  colonel,  to  put  his  value 
down  as  only  equal  to  that  of  a  slip  of  a  lad  like  yourself. 
Boys  nowadays  have  no  respect  for  their  supeyrior  officers. 
There  is  Terence,  who  is  not  sixteen  yet " 

"  Sixteen  three  months  back,  O'Grady,"  Terence  put  in. 

"Yes,  I  remember  now,  but  a  week  or  two  one  way  or  the 
other  makes  no  difference.  Here  is  Terence,  just  sixteen, 
who  ought  to  be  at  school  trying  to  get  a  little  learning  into 
his  head,  laying  down  the  law  to  his  supeyrior  officers,  just 
because  he  has  had  the  luck  to  get  onto  the  brigadier's  staff. 
I  think  sometimes  that  the  world  is  coming  to  an  end." 

"  At  any  rate,  O'Grady,"  Terence  laughed,  "  I  am  half  a 
head  taller  than  you  are,  and  could  walk  you  off  your  legs 
any  day." 

'  *  There  !  And  he  says  this  to  a  man  who  has  gone  through 
all  the  fatigues  of  the  rear-guard,  while  he  has  been  riding 
about  the  country  like  a  gentleman  at  aise. ' ' 

"  Well,  I  cannot  stop  any  longer,"  Terence  said.  "  I  am 
on  my  way  up  to  see  how  they  are  getting  on  with  the  earth- 
works, and  the  general  may  want  me  at  any  moment." 

"  I  would  not  trouble  about  that,"  O'Grady  said,  sarcasti- 
cally ;  "perhaps  he  might  make  a  shift  to  do  widout  you, 
widout  detriment  to  the  service." 

Terence  made  no  reply,  but,  mounting,  rode  off  up  the 
hill  behind  the  town.  At  two  o'clock  on  the  i6th  a  general 
movement  of  the  French  line  was  observed,  and  the  British 
infantry,  14,500  strong,  drew  up  in  order  of  battle  along 
the  position  marked  for  them.  The  British  were  fighting 
under  a  serious  disadvantage,  for  not  only  had  Soult  over 
20,000  infantry,  with  very  powerful  artillery  and  great  strength 
in  cavalry,  but  owing  to  their  position  on  the  crest  running 
somewhat  obliquely  to  the  higher  one  occupied  by  the  French, 
the  heavy  battery  on  the  rocks  to  their  right  raked  the  whole 


CORUNNA  181 

line  of  battle.  Hope's  division  was  on  the  British  left,  Baird's 
on  the  right.  Eraser's  division  was  on  another  ridge  some 
distance  from  the  others,  and  immediately  covering  the  town 
of  Corunna ;  and  Paget,  with  his  division  to  which  the  Mayo 
regiment  was  still  attached,  was  posted  at  the  village  of  Airis, 
on  the  height  between  Hope's  division  and  the  harbour,  and 
looking  down  the  valley  between  the  main  position  and  the 
ridge  held  by  Fraser. 

From  here  he  could  either  reinforce  Hope  and  Baird,  or 
advance  down  the  valley  to  repel  any  attack  of  the  French 
cavalry,  and  cover  the  retreat  of  the  main  body  if  forced  to 
fall  back.  The  battle  commenced  by  the  French  opening 
fire  with  their  field-guns,  which  were  distributed  along  the 
front  of  their  position,  and  by  the  heavy  battery  on  their 
left,  while  their  infantry  descended  the  mountain  in  three 
heavy  columns,  covered  by  clouds  of  skirmishers.  The  Brit- 
ish piquets  were  at  once  driven  in,  and  the  village  of  Elvina, 
held  by  a  portion  of  the  5oth,  carried.  The  French  column 
on  this  side  then  divided  into  two  portions ;  one  endeavoured 
to  turn  Baird's  right  and  enter  the  valley  behind  the  British 
position,  while  the  other  climbed  the  hill  to  attack  him  in 
front.  The  second  column  moved  against  the  British  centre, 
and  the  third  attacked  Hope's  left,  which  rested  on  the  vil- 
lage of  Palavia  Abaxo. 

The  nine  English  guns  were  altogether  overmatched  by 
those  of  Soult's  heavy  battery.  Moore,  seeing  that  the  half- 
column  advancing  by  Baird's  flank  made  no  movement  to 
penetrate  beyond  his  right,  directed  him  to  throw  back  one 
regiment  and  take  the  French  in  flank.  Paget  was  ordered 
to  advance  up  the  valley,  to  drive  back  the  French  column, 
and  menace  the  French  battery,  uniting  himself  with  a  bat- 
talion previously  posted  on  a  hill  to  keep  the  threatening 
masses  of  French  cavalry  in  check.  He  also  sent  word  to 


182 


WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 


Fraser  to  advance  at  once  and  support  Paget.  Baird  launched 
the  5oth  and  426.  Regiments  to  meet  the  enemy  issuing  from 
Elvina.  The  ground  round  the  village  was  broken  by  stone 
walls  and  hollow  roads,  but  the  French  were  forced  back,  and 


BATTLE  OF  CORUNNA 

Scale 
?_¥_¥     V     i  Mile 


alker  frBoutallsc. 


the  5oth,  entering  the  village  with  the  fleeing  enemy,  drove 
them,  after  a  struggle,  beyond  the  houses. 

The  42d,  misunderstanding  orders,  retired  towards  the  hill, 
and  the  French,  being  reinforced,  again  attacked  Elvina, 
which  the  5oth  held  stubbornly  until  again  joined  by  the  42d, 


CORUNNA  183 

which  had  been  sent  forward  by  Moore  himself.  Paget  was 
now  engaged  in  the  valley,  the  advance  of  the  enemy  was 
arrested,  and  they  suffered  very  heavily  from  the  fire  of  the 
regiments  on  the  height  above  their  flank,  while  Paget  steadily 
gained  ground.  The  centre  and  left  were  now  hotly  engaged, 
but  held  their  ground  against  all  the  attacks  of  the  enemy, 
and  on  the  extreme  left  advanced  and  drove  the  French  out 
of  the  village  of  Palavia  Abaxo,  which  they  had  occupied. 
Elvina  was  now  firmly  held,  while  Paget  carried  all  before  him 
on  the  right,  and,  with  Fraser's  division  behind  him,  men- 
aced the  great  French  battery. 

Had  this  been  carried,  the  two  divisions  could  have  swept 
along  the  French  position,  crumpling  up  the  forces  as  they 
went,  and  driving  them  down  towards  the  river  Moro,  in 
which  case  they  would  have  been  lost.  Owing,  however,  to 
the  battle  having  been  begun  at  so  late  an  hour,  darkness 
now  fell.  The  general  himself,  while  watching  the  contest  at 
Elvina,  had  been  struck  by  a  cannon  -  ball  and  mortally 
wounded.  General  Baird  had  also  been  struck  down.  This 
loss  of  commanders  combined  with  the  darkness  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  the  victorious  troops,  and  permitted  the  French, 
who  were  already  falling  back  in  great  confusion,  to  recover 
themselves  and  maintain  their  position. 

The  object  for  which  the  battle  had  been  fought  was  gained. 
Night,  which  had  saved  the  French  from  total  defeat,  afforded 
the  British  the  opportunity  of  extricating  themselves  from 
their  position,  and  General  Hope,  who  now  assumed  the  com- 
mand, ordered  the  troops  to  abandon  their  positions  and  to 
march  down  to  the  port,  leaving  strong  piquets  with  fires 
burning  to  deceive  the  enemy.  All  the  arrangements  for 
embarkation  had  been  carefully  arranged  by  Sir  John  Moore, 
and  without  the  least  hitch  or  confusion  the  troops  marched 
down  to  the  port,  and  before  morning  were  all  on  board  with 


184  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

the  exception  of  a  rear-guard,  under  General  Beresford,  which 
occupied  the  citadel. 

At  daybreak  the  piquets  were  withdrawn  and  also  em- 
barked, and  a  force  under  General  Hill,  that  had  been  stationed 
on  the  ramparts  to  cover  the  movement,  then  marched  down 
to  the  citadel,  and  there  took  boats  for  the  ships.  By  this 
time,  however,  the  French,  having  discovered  that  the  British 
position  was  abandoned,  had  planted  a  battery  on  the  heights 
of  San  Lucia  and  opened  fire  on  the  shipping.  This  caused 
much  confusion  among  the  transports.  Several  of  the  masters 
cut  their  cables,  and  four  vessels  ran  ashore.  The  troops,  how- 
ever, were  taken  on  board  of  other  transports  by  the  boats  of 
the  men-of-war.  The  stranded  ships  were  fired,  and  the  fleet 
got  safely  out  of  harbour. 

The  noble  commander,  by  whose  energy,  resolution,  and 
talent  this  wonderful  march  had  been  achieved,  lived  only  long 
enough  to  know  that  his  soldiers  were  victorious,  and  was 
buried  the  same  night  on  the  ramparts.  His  memory  was  for 
a  time  assailed  with  floods  of  abuse  by  that  portion  of  the 
press  and  public  that  had  all  along  vilified  the  action  of  the 
British  general,  had  swallowed  eagerly  every  lie  promulgated 
by  the  Junta  of  Oporto,  and  by  the  whole  of  the  Spanish 
authorities ;  but  in  time  his  extraordinary  merits  came  to  be 
recognized  to  their  full  value,  and  his  name  will  long  live  as 
one  of  the  noblest  men  and  best  generals  Great  Britain  has 
ever  produced. 

Beresford  held  the  citadel  until  the  i8th,  and  then  em- 
barked with  his  troops  and  all  the  wounded ;  the  people  of 
Corunna,  remaining  true  to  their  promises,  manned  the  ram- 
parts of  the  town  until  the  last  British  soldier  was  on  board. 

The  British  loss  in  the  battle  was  estimated  at  800  men ; 
that  of  the  French  was  put  down  at  3,000.  Their  greater  loss 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  they  assumed  the  offensive,  and  were 


AN   ESCAPE  185 

much  more  exposed  than  the  defenders  ;  that  the  nine  little 
guns  of  the  latter  were  enabled  to  sweep  them  with  grape, 
while  the  British  were  so  far  away  from  the  French  batteries 
that  the  latter  were  obliged  to  fire  round  shot ;  and  lastly  that 
the  new  muskets  and  fresh  ammunition  gave  a  great  advantage 
to  the  British  over  the  rusty  muskets  and  often  damaged  pow- 
der of  the  French.  Paget's  division  had  suffered  but  slightly, 
the  main  loss  of  the  English  having  occurred  in  and  around 
Elvina,  and  from  the  shot  of  the  heavy  battery  that  swept  the 
crest  held  by  them.  Two  officers  killed  and  four  wounded 
were  the  only  casualties  in  that  division,  while  but  thirty  of 
the  rank  and  file  were  put  out  of  action. 


CHAPTER    XI 

AN    ESCAPE 

WHILE  the  battle  was  at  its  height  Terence  was  despatched 
by  the  brigadier  to  carry  an  order  to  one  of  the  regi- 
ments that  had  pushed  too  far  forward  in  its  ardour.  Scram- 
bling over  rough  ground,  and  occasionally  leaping  a  wall,  he 
reached  the  colonel.  "  The  general  requests  you  to  fall  back 
a  little,  sir }  you  are  farther  forward  than  the  regiment  on  your 
flank.  The  enemy  are  pushing  a  force  down  the  hill  in  your 
direction,  and  as  there  is  no  support  that  can  be  sent  to  you  at 
present,  he  wishes  your  extreme  right  to  be  in  touch  with  the 
left  of  the  regiment  holding  Elvina." 

"  Very  good.  Tell  General  Fane  that  I  will  carry  out  his 
instructions.  Where  is  he  now  ?  ' ' 

"He  is  in  the  village,  sir."  Terence  turned  his  horse  to 
ride  back.  The  din  of  battle  was  almost  bewildering.  A  des- 
perate conflict  was  going  on  in  front  of  the  village,  where  every 


186  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

wall  was  obstinately  contested,  the  regiment  being  hotly  en- 
gaged with  a  French  force  that  was  rapidly  increasing  in 
strength.  The  great  French  battery  was  sending  its  missiles 
far  overhead  against  the  British  position  on  the  hill,  the  British 
guns  were  playing  on  the  French  troops  beyond  the  village, 
and  the  French  light  field-pieces  were  pouring  their  fire  into 
Elvina.  Terence  made  his  way  across  the  broken  ground  near 
the  village.  Galloping  at  a  low  stone  wall,  the  horse  was  in 
the  act  of  rising  to  clear  it  when  it  was  struck  in  the  head  by 
a  round  shot.  Terence  was  thrown  far  ahead  over  the  wall, 
and  fell  heavily  head-foremost  on  a  pile  of  stones  covered  by 
some  low  shrubs. 

The  shock  was  a  terrible  one,  and  for  many  hours  he  lay  in- 
sensible. When  he  recovered  consciousness,  he  remained  for 
some  time  wondering  vaguely  where  he  was.  Above  him  was 
a  canopy  of  foliage,  through  which  the  rays  of  the  sun  were 
streaming.  A  dead  silence  had  succeeded  the  roar  of  battle. 
He  put  his  hand  to  his  head,  which  was  aching  intolerably, 
and  found  that  his  hair  was  thick  with  clotted  blood. 

"  Yes,  of  course,"  he  said  to  himself  at  last ;  "  I  was  carry- 
ing a  message  to  Fane.  I  was  just  going  to  jump  a  wall  and 
there  was  a  sudden  crash.  I  remember — I  flew  out  of  the  sad- 
dle— that  is  all  I  do  remember.  I  have  been  stunned,  I  sup- 
pose. How  is  it  so  quiet ?  I  suppose  the  battle  is  over." 

Then  he  sat  suddenly  upright. 

"The  sun  is  shining,"  he  said.  "  It  was  getting  dusk  when  I 
was  riding  back  to  the  village.  I  must  have  lain  here  all  night. ' ' 

Suddenly  he  heard  a  gun  fired ;  it  was  quickly  followed  by 
others.  He  rose  on  his  knees  and  looked  cautiously  over  the 
bushes. 

"  It  is  away  there,"  he  said,  "  on  those  heights  above  the 
harbour.  The  army  must  have,  embarked,  and  the  French  are 
firing  at  the  ships." 


"  POOR  OLD  JACK  I   HE  HAS  CARRIED  ME  WELL  EVER  SINCE 
HIM  AT  TORRES  VEDRAS." 


GOT 


AN   ESCAPE  187 

His  conjecture  was  speedily  verified,  for,  looking  along  the 
crest  which  the  British  had  held  during  the  fight,  he  saw  a 
large  body  of  French  troops  just  reaching  the  top  of  the  rise. 
He  stood  up  now  and  looked  round.  No  one  could  be  seen 
moving  in  the  orchards  and  vineyards  round.  He  peered  over 
the  wall ;  his  horse  lay  there  in  a  huddled-up  heap. 

"  A  round  shot  in  the  head  !  "  he  exclaimed  ;  "  that  ac- 
counts for  it.  Poor  old  Jack !  he  has  carried  me  well  ever 
since  I  got  him  at  Torres  Vedras." 

He  climbed  down  and  got  what  he  was  in  search  of — a  large 
flask  full  of  brandy-and -water,  which  he  carried  in  one  of  the 
holsters.  He  took  a  long  drink,  and  felt  better  at  once. 

"  I  may  as  well  take  the  pistols,"  he  said,  and,  putting  them 
into  his  belt,  climbed  over  the  wall  again,  and  lay  down  among 
the  bushes. 

He  was  now  able  to  think  clearly.  Should  he  get  up  and 
surrender  himself  as  a  prisoner  to  the  first  body  of  French 
troops  that  he  came  across  ?  or  should  he  lie  where  he  was 
until  nightfall,  and  then  try  to  get  away  ?  If  he  surrendered, 
there  was  before  him  a  march  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles 
to  a  French  prison ;  if  he  tried  to  get  away,  no  doubt  there 
were  many  hardships  and  dangers,  but  at  least  a  possibility  of 
rejoining  sooner  or  later.  At  any  rate,  he  would  be  no  worse 
off  than  the  many  hundreds  who  had  straggled  during  the 
march,  for  it  was  probable  that  the  great  majority  of  these 
were  spread  over  the  country,  as  the  French,  pressing  forward 
in  pursuit,  would  not  have  troubled  themselves  to  hunt  down 
fugitives,  who,  if  caught,  would  only  be  an  encumbrance  to 
them. 

He  was  better  off  than  they  were,  for  at  any  rate  he  could 
make  himself  understood,  which  was  more  than  the  majority 
of  the  soldiers  could  do  ;  and  at  least  he  would  not  provoke  the 
animosity  of  the  peasants  by  the  rough  measures  they  would 


188  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

be  likely  to  take  to  satisfy  their  wants.  The  worst  of  it  was 
that  he  had  no  money.  Then  suddenly  he  sat  up  again  and 
looked  at  his  feet. 

"  This  is  luck  !  "  he  exclaimed  ;  "I  had  never  given  the 
thing  a  thought  before. '  * 

On  his  arrival  at  Corunna  he  had  thrown  away  the  riding- 
boots  he  had  bought  at  Salamanca.  The  constant  rains  had 
so  shrunk  them  that  he  could  no  longer  wear  them  without 
pain,  and  he  had  taken  again  to  the  boots  that  he  carried  in 
his  valise. 

From  the  time  when,  at  his  father's  suggestion,  he  had  had 
extra  soles  placed  on  them,  above  which  were  hidden  fifteen 
guineas,  the  fact  of  the  money  being  there  had  never  once 
occurred  to  him.  He  had  had  sufficient  cash  about  him  to 
pay  for  purchases  at  Salamanca  and  on  the  road,  and,  indeed, 
had  five  guineas  still  in  his  pocket,  though  he  had  drawn  no 
pay  from  the  time  of  leaving  Torres  Vedras. 

This  discovery  decided  him.  With  twenty  guineas  he  could 
pay  his  way  for  months,  and  he  determined  to  make  the  at- 
tempt to  escape. 

The  firing  continued  for  some  time  and  then  ceased. 

"  The  fleet  must  have  got  out,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  It  is 
certain  that  the  French  have  not  taken  Corunna.  We  were 
getting  the  best  of  it  up  to  the  time  I  was  hurt,  and  it  would 
be  dark  in  another  half-hour,  and  there  could  be  no  fighting 
on  such  ground  as  this,  after  that.  Besides,  Corunna  is  a  strong 
fortress,  and  we  could  have  held  out  there  for  weeks,  for  Soult 
can  have  no  battering  train  with  him  ;  besides,  everything 
was  ready  for  embarkation,  and  I  know  that  it  was  intended, 
whether  we  won  or  lost,  that  the  troops  should  go  on  board 
in  the  night." 

As  he  lay  there  he  could  occasionally  hear  the  sound  of 
drums  and  trumpets  as  the  troops  marched  from  their  positions 


AN    ESCAPE  189 

of  the  night  before,  to  take  up  others  nearer  to  the  town.  At 
times  he  heard  voices,  and  knew  that  they  were  searching  for 
wounded  over  the  ground  that  had  been  so  desperately  con- 
tested ;  but  the  spot  where  he  was  lying  lay  between  the  village 
and  the  ground  where  the  regiment  he  had  gone  to  order  back 
had  been  engaged  with  the  enemy,  and  as  no  fighting  had  taken 
place  there,  it  was  unlikely  that  the  search-parties  would  go 
over  it.  This,  indeed,  proved  to  be  the  case,  and  after  a  time 
he  fell  off  to  sleep,  and  did  not  wake  until  night  was  closing  in. 
He  was  hungry  now,  and  again  crossing  the  wall  he  took  half 
a  chicken  and  a  piece  of  bread  that  his  servant  had  thrust  into 
his  wallet  just  before  starting,  and  made  a  hearty  meal.  He 
unbuckled  his  sword  and  left  it  behind  him;  he  had  his  pistols, 
and  a  sword  would  be  only  an  encumbrance. 

As  soon  as  it  became  quite  dark  he  made  his  way  cautiously 
down  the  valley,  passed  the  spot  where  the  French  column  had 
suffered  so  heavily,  and  then,  turning  to  the  left,  traversed 
the  narrow  plain  that  divided  the  position  on  which  the  French 
heavy  battery  had  been  placed  and  the  plateau  on  which  their 
cavalry  had  been  massed.  Numerous  fires  blazed  in  the  wide 
valley  behind,  where  the  reserve  had  been  stationed  on  the 
previous  morning,  and  he  doubted  not  that  the  French  cavalry 
were  there,  especially  as  he  found  no  signs  of  life  on  the  plateau 
above.  Coming  presently  on  a  small  stream  he  bathed  his  head 
for  a  considerable  time,  and  then  proceeded  on  his  way,  feeling 
much  brighter  and  fresher  than  he  had  done  before. 

The  ground  began  to  ascend  more  steeply,  and  after  an 
hour's  walking  he  stood  on  the  crest  of  the  hill  and  looked 
down  on  the  position  that  the  French  had  held,  and  beyond 
it  on  Corunna  and  the  sea.  The  cold  was  extreme.  He  had 
brought  with  him  his  greatcoat  and  blanket,  and,  wrapping 
himself  in  these,  lay  down  in  a  sheltered  position  and  slept 
again  till  morning  broke.  His  head  was  now  better,  and  he 


190  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

was  able  to  think  more  clearly  than  he  could  the  day  before. 
The  first  thing  was  to  decide  as  to  his  course.  It  would  be 
dangerous  to  make  direct  for  the  frontier  of  Portugal.  Now 
that  the  British  army  had  embarked,  Soult  would  be  free  to 
undertake  operations  in  that  country,  and  would  doubtless 
shortly  put  his  troops  in  motion  in  that  direction,  and  his 
cavalry  would  be  scattering  all  over  the  province  collecting 
provisions.  Moreover,  there  would  be  the  terrible  range  of 
the  Tras-os-montes  to  pass,  and  no  certainty  whatever  of  being 
well  received  by  the  Portuguese  peasants  north  of  Oporto. 

His  constant  study  of  the  staff  maps  was  now  of  great  assist- 
ance to  him.  He  determined  to  turn  west  until  he  reached 
the  river  Minho  some  distance  below  Lugo,  which  he  could  do 
by  skirting  the  top  of  the  hills.  He  would  therefore  strike  it 
somewhere  about  the  point  where  the  river  Sil  joined  it,  and, 
following  this,  would  find  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  Cantabrian 
Hills,  dividing  the  Asturias  from  Leon.  Then  he  could  be 
guided  by  circumstances,  and  could  either  cross  these  moun- 
tains and  make  for  a  seaport,  or  could  journey  down  through 
Leon  to  Ciudad-Rodrigo,  which  was  still  held  by  a  Spanish 
garrison,  and  from  there  make  his  way  through  Portugal  to 
Lisbon. 

He  questioned  whether  it  would  be  wise  for  him  to  attempt 
to  get  the  dress  of  a  Spanish  peasant  instead  of  his  uniform,  but 
he  finally  decided  that  until  he  was  beyond  any  risk  of  being 
captured  by  parties  from  either  Soult  or  Ney's  armies,  it  would 
be  better  to  continue  in  uniform.  If  taken  in  that  dress  it 
would  be  seen  that  he  was  a  straggler  from  Moore's  army,  and 
he  would  be  simply  treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war ;  while,  if  taken 
in  the  dress  of  a  peasant,  he  would  be  liable  to  be  treated  as  a 
spy  and  shot.  Having  made  up  his  mind,  he  started  at  once, 
and  in  three  hours  was  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  on  the  other 
side  of  which  ran  the  road  from  Lugo  to  Corunna,  which 


AN    ESCAPE  191 

proved  so  disastrous  to  the  army.  He  presently  arrived  at  a 
small  hamlet,  and  the  children  in  the  streets  ran  shrieking 
away  as  they  saw  him.  Women  appeared  at  the  doors  and 
looked  out  anxiously  ;  they  had  not  before  seen  a  British 
uniform,  and  at  once  supposed  that  he  was  French.  Seeing 
that  he  was  alone,  several  men  armed  with  clubs  and  picks 
came  out. 

"  I  am  an  English  officer,"  he  said,  "  and  I  desire  food  and 
shelter  for  a  few  hours.  I  have  money  to  pay  for  it." 

The  peasants  at  once  came  round  him.  Confused  accounts 
had  reached  them  of  the  doings  on  the  other  side  of  the  hills. 
They  knew  that  an  English  army  had  marched  from  Lugo  to 
Corunna,  hotly  pursued  by  the  French,  but  they  had  heard 
nothing  of  what  had  happened  afterwards.  They  eagerly 
asked  for  news.  Terence  told  them  that  there  had  been  a 
great  battle  outside  Corunna,  that  the  French  had  been  repulsed 
with  much  loss,  and  that  the  English  had  embarked  on  board 
ships  to  take  them  round  to  Lisbon,  there  to  march  east  to 
meet  the  French  again. 

Nothing  could  be  kinder  than  the  treatment  he  received. 
They  told  him  that  Ney's  army  was  between  the  Sil  and  Lugo, 
but  that  no  French  troops  had  crossed  the  Minho  as  yet. 

They  were  eager  to  know  why  the  English,  if  they  had 
beaten  the  French,  sailed  away.  But  when  he  said  that  Soult 
would  have  been  joined  by  Ney  in  a  couple  of  days,  and  would 
then  be  well-nigh  double  the  strength  of  the  British,  who 
would  be  so  hotly  pressed  that  they  would  be  unable  to  em- 
bark, the  peasants  saw  that  what  they  considered  their  deser- 
tion could  not  have  been  avoided.  The  news  of  the  terrible 
defeats  that  had,  a  month  before,  been  inflicted  upon  their 
armies  had  not  reached  them,  and  Terence  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  enlighten  them.  He  told  them  that  the  march 
north  of  the  English  had  been  intended  to  bring  all  the  French 


192  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

forces  in  that  direction,  and  so  to  enable  the  Spanish  armies 
to  operate  successfully,  and  that  not  only  Soult  and  Ney,  but 
Napoleon  himself,  had  been  drawn  off  from  the  south  in  pur- 
suit of  them. 

They  were  filled  with  satisfaction,  and  he  was  at  once  taken 
into  one  of  the  cottages.  A  good  meal  was  shortly  placed  be- 
fore him,  his  head  was  carefully  bandaged,  and  he  was  then 
asked  how  it  was  that  he  had  not  embarked  with  the  rest  of 
the  army.  He  related  how  he  had  been  left  behind,  and  then 
asked  them  their  opinion  as  to  his  best  course,  telling  them  the 
plan  he  himself  had  formed.  They  agreed  at  once  that  this  was 
the  wisest  one,  but  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  try  it  until 
Ney's  force  had  moved  from  its  present  position.  They  knew 
that  he  had  a  division  at  Orense  on  the  Minho,  and  that  par- 
ties of  his  cavalry  had  scoured  the  plain  as  far  as  the  river 
Ulla,  and  urged  upon  him  to  remain  with  them  until  some 
news  was  obtained  of  the  movements  of  the  French  army. 

He  gladly  accepted  the  invitation,  and  for  a  couple  of  days 
remained  at  the  little  hamlet.  One  of  the  peasants  came  in 
at  the  end  of  that  time,  saying  that  the  French  in  Corunna  had 
crossed  the  mountains  and  had  arrived  at  Santiago,  twenty 
miles  distant,  and  that  their  cavalry  were  scouring  the  coun- 
try. They  also  brought  news  that  Romana  was  at  Toabado, 
and  that  he  had  but  two  or  three  thousand  men  with  him,  the 
rest  having  been  routed  and  cut  up  by  the  French  cavalry. 
Terence  at  once  determined  to  join  him. 

The  fact  that  he  still  had  some  troops  with  him  had  no  in- 
fluence in  causing  him  to  form  this  resolution.  Romana  had 
been  so  often  defeated  that  he  knew  that  his  men  would, 
after  their  recent  misfortunes,  scatter  at  once  before  even  the 
weakest  French  detachment.  But  Romana  himself  knew  the 
country  well,  was  a  man  of  great  resource  and  activity,  and 
was  likely  to  evade  all  efforts  to  capture  him.  He  thought 


AN    ESCAPE  193 

then  that  by  joining  him  and  sharing  his  fortunes  he  was  more 
likely  to  have  some  opportunity  of  making  his  way  to  Lisbon 
than  he  would  have  if  left  to  his  own  resources,  especially  as 
he  had  no  doubt  that  Soult  would  at  once  prepare  to  invade 
Portugal  by  occupying  all  the  passes,  and  thus  render  it  next 
to  impossible  to  journey  thither  alone  and  on  foot.  One  of 
the  peasants  offered  to  guide  him  across  the  hills  to  Toabado. 
They  started  at  once,  and  at  daybreak  next  morning  reached 
the  village. 

As  Romana  had  been  several  times  in  personal  communica- 
tion with  Sir  John  Moore,  Terence  was  acquainted  with  his 
appearance,  and  seeing  him  standing  at  the  door  of  the  prin- 
cipal house  of  the  village,  went  up  to  him  and  saluted  him. 
The  latter  looked  upon  him  with  great  surprise. 

"  How  have  you  managed  to  pass  through  the  French?" 
he  asked. 

"  I  have  seen  none  of  them,  Marquis.  I  was  wounded  in 
the  battle  of  Corunna,  and  after  lying  insensible  all  that  night, 
found,  when  I  recovered  in  the  morning,  that  the  French  had 
advanced  and  that  I  was  in  their  rear.  I  heard  their  guns  from 
the  heights  above  the  town,  and  knew  that  our  army  had 
gained  their  transports.  I  lay  concealed  all  day  and  then 
crossed  the  mountains,  and  have  been  resting  for  two  days  at 
a  village  on  the  other  side  of  the  hills.  The  news  came  that 
you  were  here,  and  I  decided  to  join  you  at  once.  I  was  on 
the  staff  of  General  Fane,  and,  knowing  the  duties  of  an 
aide-de-camp,  thought  I  might  make  myself  useful  to  you 
until  there  was  an  opportunity  of  my  rejoining  a  British 
force." 

"  You  are  welcome,  sir,"  Romana  said,  courteously.     "  It 

was  only  this  morning  that  we  learned  from  a  prisoner  that 

my  men  took  that  you  had  driven  back  Soult  before  Corunna 

and  had  embarked  safely.     I  was  in  great  fear  that  your  army 

13 


194  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

would  have  been  captured.  I  see  that  you  have  been  wounded 
on  the  head." 

"It  can  scarcely  be  called  a  wound,  Marquis.  I  was  car- 
rying a  message  on  the  battle-field  ;  when  I  was  taking  a  wall 
my  horse  was  struck  with  a  round  shot.  I  was  thrown  over 
his  head  onto  a  heap  of  rough  stones,  and  it  was  a  marvel  to 
me  that  I  was  not  killed." 

"  I  am  just  going  to  breakfast,  sefior,  and  shall  be  glad  if 
you  will  join  me.  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  will  do  justice  to 
it." 

Romana,  who  had  commanded  the  Spanish  troops  which 
had  escaped  from  Holland,  was  the  most  energetic  of  the 
Spanish  generals.  Defeated  often,  he  was  speedily  at  the  head 
of  fresh  gatherings,  and  ready  to  take  the  field  again.  As  a 
partisan  chief  he  was  excellent,  but  possessed  no  military  tal- 
ent, and  was,  like  the  Spaniards  generally,  full  of  grand  but 
utterly  impracticable  schemes,  and  in  spite  of  his  experience 
to  the  contrary,  confident  that  the  Spaniards  would  overthrow 
the  French. 

"  I  have  been  unfortunate,"  he  said,  in  reply  to  the  inquiry 
as  to  how  many  troops  he  had  with  him.  "  At  your  English 
general's  request  I  took  a  different  course  with  my  army  to 
that  which  he  was  pursuing,  in  order  that  his  magazines  should 
be  untouched.  I  crossed  his  line  of  retreat,  but  unfortunately 
Franceschi's  cavalry  come  down  upon  us,  cut  up  my  artillery 
and  infantry,  and  scattered  my  force  entirely.  However, 
some  three  thousand  have  rejoined,  and  I  expect  in  a  short 
time  to  be  at  the  head  of  20,000.  I  ought  to  have  more,  but 
these  Galician  peasants  are  stubborn  fellows.  They  know 
nothing  of  the  affairs  of  Spain,  and  although  they  will  fight  in 
defence  of  their  own  villages,  they  have  no  interest  in  any- 
thing beyond,  and  hang  back  from  joining  an  army  that  might 
operate  outside  their  province,  You  see,  until  now  it  has 


AN   ESCAPE  195 

been  untouched  by  war.  They  have  suffered  in  no  way  from 
French  extortions  and  outrages.  As  soon  as  they  feel  the 
smart  themselves,  I  doubt  not  they  will  be  as  full  of  hatred 
of  the  invaders  as  people  are  elsewhere,  and  as  ready  to  take 
up  arms  against  them." 

Romana's  troops  were  but  a  motley  gathering.  The  force 
that  he  had  brought  with  him  from  Holland  had  been  landed 
at  Santander,  marched  to  Bilbao,  and  joined  Blake's  army, 
and  had  shared  in  the  crushing  defeat  suffered  by  that  general 
at  Espinosa,  where  most  of  them  were  taken  prisoners.  They 
were  again  incorporated  in  the  French  army,  and  afterwards 
took  part  in  the  Russian  campaign,  and  in  the  retreat  no  less 
than  four  thousand  of  them  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Rus- 
sians and  handed  over  by  them  to  British  transports  sent  to 
Cronstadt  to  fetch  them.  Romana  himself  had  escaped  from 
the  battle- field,  and  afterward  raised  a  fresh  force.  This  had 
dwindled  away  from  15,000  to  5,000  when  he  joined  Moore 
on  his  advance,  and  now  amounted  to  barely  2,000,  of  whom 
the  greater  portion  had  thrown  away  their  arms  in  their  flight. 

On  the  following  day  Romana,  with  a  small  body  of  cav- 
alry, left  Toabado,  crossed  the  Minho,  descended  into  the 
valley  of  the  Tamega,  and  took  refuge  close  to  the  Portuguese 
frontier  line.  Here  he  was,  for  a  time,  safe  from  the  pursuit 
of  the  French,  the  insignificance  of  his  force  being  his  best 
protection.  Soult  lost  no  time.  As  soon  as  the  English  army 
had  left,  Corunna  opened  its  gates  to  him,  as  did  Ferrol,  al- 
though neither  of  these  towns  could  have  been  taken  without 
a  siege,  and  Soult  must  have  been  delayed  until  a  battering- 
train  was  brought  from  Madrid. 

The  magazines  of  British  powder  and  stores  that  had  been 
lying  for  months  in  Ferrol  were  invaluable  to  him. 

The  soldiers  were  set  to  work  to  make  fresh  cartridges,  and 
then,  after  six  days'  halt  to  give  rest  to  his  weary  and  foot- 


196  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

sore  men,  he  began  to  prepare  to  carry  out  Napoleon's  orders 
to  invade  Portugal.  Ney,  with  20,000  men,  was  to  maintain 
Galicia,  and,  reinforced  by  a  fresh  division,  Soult  was  to 
march  direct  upon  Oporto  with  25,000  men,  leaving  12,000 
in  hospital,  and  8,000  to  keep  up  the  line  of  communication 
with  Ney.  It  took  some  time  to  complete  all  the  arrange- 
ments and  to  gather  the  force  at  St.  Jago  Compostella,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  first  of  February  that  he  was  able  to  move. 

On  the  day  of  his  arrival  on  the  frontier,  Romana  despatched 
Terence  to  Sir  John  Cradock,  who  now  commanded  the 
British  troops  in  Portugal,  which  had  been  augmented  by 
fresh  arrivals  from  England  until  their  numbers  almost 
equalled  that  of  the  force  with  which  Sir  John  Moore  marched 
into  Spain. 

Romana  asked  that  arms  and  money  should  be  sent  to  him, 
promising  to  harass  the  French  advance,  and  cut  their  com- 
munications from  the  rear.  Terence  gladly  consented  to  carry 
his  despatch ;  he  was  furnished  with  one  of  the  best  horses  in 
the  troop,  and  at  once  started  on  his  journey.  It  was  a  long 
and  harassing  one  ;  many  ranges  of  mountains  and  hills  had 
to  be  crossed,  by  roads  difficult  in  the  extreme  at  the  best  of 
times,  but  almost  impassable  in  winter.  Three  times  he  was 
seized  by  parties  of  Portuguese  militia  and  raw  levies,  but  was 
released  on  convincing  their  leaders  that  he  was  the  bearer  of 
a  communication  to  the  English  general. 

The  distance  to  be  travelled  was,  in  a  direct  line,  over  two 
hundred  and  thirty  miles.  This  was  greatly  increased  by  the 
circuitous  nature  of  the  route  through  the  mountainous  coun- 
try, so  that  it  took  nine  days,  and  would  have  much  exceeded 
this  time,  had  Terence  not  found  a  British  force  at  Coimbra, 
and  there  exchanged  his  worn-out  animal  for  a  fresh  one, 
placed  at  his  disposal  by  the  officer  in  command. 

Cradock  was  experiencing  exactly  the  same  difficulties  that 


AN   ESCAPE  197 

Moore  had  done.  The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  authorities 
united  in  pressing  him  to  advance,  the  former  urging  upon 
him  that  his  presence  would  be  the  signal  for  the  Spanish 
armies  in  the  south  to.  unite  and  entirely  overthrow  the 
French,  while  the  latter  were  desirous  that  he  should  march 
to  Ciudad-Rodrigo,  defeat  the  French  at  Salamanca,  and  so 
protect  Portugal  from  invasion  from  that  side. 

That  Portugal  might  be  attacked  from  the  north  and  south 
simultaneously  by  Soult  and  Victor  did  not  enter  into  their 
calculations,  but  while  urging  an  advance,  the  Junta  would 
take  no  steps  whatever  to  enable  the  army  to  move ;  they 
would  neither  afford  him  facilities  for  collecting  transport, 
nor  order  the  roads  that  he  would  have  to  traverse  to  be  put 
in  order,  and  thwarted  all  his  efforts  to  raise  a  strong  force 
among  the  Portuguese. 

There  was,  indeed,  some  improvement  in  the  latter  respect. 
At  their  own  request,  Lord  Beresford  had  been  sent  out  from 
England  to  take  the  command  of  the  Portuguese  armies,  and 
as  he  had  brought  many  British  officers  with  him,  some  20,000 
men  had  been  armed  and  drilled,  and  could  be  reckoned 
upon  to  do  some  service,  if  employed  with  British  troops  to 
give  them  backbone.  The  Portuguese  peasantry  were  strong 
and  robust,  and  by  nature  courageous,  and  needed  only  the 
discipline — that  they  could  not  receive  from  their  own  offi- 
cers— to  turn  them  into  valuable  troops.  According  to  the 
law  of  the  country  every  man  was  liable  for  service,  and  had 
the  corrupt  Junta  been  dismissed,  and  full  power  been  given  to 
the  British,  an  army  of  250,000  men  might  have  been  placed 
in  the  field  for  the  defence  of  the  country,  with  a  proper  sup- 
ply of  arms  and  money. 

But  so  far  from  assisting,  the  Junta  threw  every  possible 
impediment  in  the  way.  They  feared  that  any  real  national 
effort,  if  successful,  would  get  altogether  beyond  their  control, 


198  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

and  that  they  would  lose  the  power  that  enabled  them  to  en- 
rich themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  people.  Not  only  that, 
but  they  were  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  supremacy  with  the 
Junta  of  Oporto,  which  was  striving  by  every  means  to  render 
itself  the  supreme  authority  of  the  whole  of  Portugal. 

Terence  had  hoped  that  when  he  arrived  at  Lisbon  he 
should  meet  the  army  he  had  left  at  Corunna,  for  Sir  John 
Moore's  instructions  had  been  precise  that  the  fleet  was  to  go 
thither.  These  instructions,  however,  had  been  disobeyed, 
and  the  fleet  had  sailed  direct  for  England.  It  had  on  the 
way  encountered  a  great  storm,  which  had  scattered  it  in  all 
directions.  Several  of  the  ships  were  wrecked  on  the  coast 
of  England,  and  the  army  which  would  have  been  of  ines- 
timable service  at  Lisbon,  now  served  only,  by  the  tattered 
garments  and  emaciated  frames  of  the  soldiers,  to  excite  a 
burst  of  misplaced  indignation  against  the  memory  of  the 
general  whose  genius  had  saved  it  from  destruction. 

On  arriving  at  head-quarters  and  stating  his  errand,  Ter- 
ence was  at  once  admitted  to  the  room  where  Sir  John  Crad- 
ock  was  at  work. 

"  I  am  told,  sir,  that  you  are  the  bearer  of  a  despatch  from 
the  Spanish  general,  Romana.  Before  I  open  it,  will  you 
explain  how  it  was  that  you  came  to  be  with  him  ?  " 

Terence  gave  a  brief  account  of  the  manner  in  which, 
after  being  left  behind  on  the  field  of  Corunna,  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  joining  Romana. 

The  general's  face,  which  had  at  first  been  severe,  softened 
as  he  proceeded. 

1  <  That  is  altogether  satisfactory,  Mr.  O'Connor,"  he  said. 
"  I  feared  that  you  might  have  been  one  of  the  stragglers, 
among  whom  I  hear  were  many  officers,  as  well  as  thousands 
of  men  belonging  to  Sir  John  Moore's  army.  We  received 
news  of  his  glorious  fight  at  Corunna  and  the  embarkation  of 


AN  ESCAPE  199 

his  army,  by  a  ship  that  arrived  here  but  three  days  since 
from  that  port.  Have  you  heard  of  the  death  of  that  noble 
soldier  himself?  " 

"No,  sir,"  Terence  replied,  much  shocked  at  the  news. 
"  That  is  a  terrible  loss,  indeed.  He  was  greatly  loved  by  the 
army.  He  saw  into  every  matter  himself,  was  with  the  rear- 
guard all  through  the  retreat,  and  laboured  night  and  day  to 
maintain  order  and  discipline,  and  it  was  assuredly  no  fault 
of  his  if  he  failed." 

"  Was  your  own  regiment  in  the  rear-guard  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir.  It  had  the  honour  of  being  specially  chosen  by 
Sir  John  Moore  for  its  steadiness  and  good  conduct.  I  was 
not  with  it,  but  was  one  of  Brigadier-general  Fane's  aides-de- 
camp. It  was  while  carrying  a  message  to  him  that  my  horse 
was  killed  and  I  myself  stunned  by  being  thrown  onto  a 
heap  of  stones." 

Sir  John  Cradock  nodded,  and  then  opened  Romana's 
despatch.  He  raised  his  eyebrows  slightly.  He  had  been 
accustomed  to  such  appeals  for  arms  and  money,  and  knew 
how  valueless  were  the  promises  that  accompanied  them. 

"  What  force  has  General  Romana  with  him  ?  " 

"Some  two  hundred  cavalry  and  three  or  four  thousand 
peasants,  about  a  quarter  of  whom  only  are  armed." 

"  He  says  that  he  expects  to  be  joined  by  twenty  thousand 
men  in  a  few  days.  Have  you  any  means  of  judging  whether 
this  statement  is  well  founded?  " 

"  That  I  cannot  say.  General  Romana  seems  to  me  to  be 
a  man  of  greater  energy  than  any  Spaniard  I  have  hitherto 
met,  and  I  know  that  he  has  already  sent  messages  to  the 
priests  throughout  that  part  of  Galicia  urging  upon  them  the 
necessity  of  using  their  influence  among  the  peasantry.  He 
got  a  force  together  in  a  very  short  time,  after  the  complete 
defeat  and  capture  of  his  own  command  by  the  French,  at  the 


200  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

time  of  Blake's  defeat,  and  I  think  that  he  might  do  so  again, 
though  whether  they  would  be  of  any  use  whatever  in  the 
field  I  cannot  say ;  but  should  Soult  advance  into  Portugal, 
I  should  think  that  bands  of  this  sort  might  very  much 
harass  him." 

"  No  doubt  they  might  do  so.  I  will  see,  at  any  rate,  if 
I  can  obtain  some  money  from  the  political  agents.  I  have 
next  to  nothing  in  my  military  chest,  and  our  forces  are  at  a 
standstill  for  the  want  of  it.  But  that  does  not  seem  to 
matter.  While  our  troops  are  ill-fed,  ragged,  almost  shoeless, 
and  unpaid,  every  Spanish  or  Portuguese  rascal  who  holds  out 
his  hand  can  get  it  filled  with  gold.  As  to  arms,  they  are  in 
the  first  place  wanted  for  the  purpose  of  the  Portuguese  mi- 
litia, who  are  likely  to  be  a  good  deal  more  useful  than  these 
irregular  bands  ;  and  in  the  second  place,  there  are  no  means 
whatever  of  conveying  even  a  hundred  muskets,  let  alone  the 
ten  thousand  that  Romana  is  good  enough  to  ask  for.  By  the 
way,  are  you  aware  whether  Sir  John  Moore  intended  the 
army  to  sail  to  England  ?  ' ' 

"  Certainly  not,  sir.  I  know  that  up  to  the  moment  the 
battle  began  the  preparation  for  the  embarkation  went  on  un- 
ceasingly, and  General  Fane  told  me  the  night  before  that  we 
were  to  be  taken  here.  Whether  Sir  John  may,  at  the  last 
moment,  have  countermanded  that  order  I  am  unable  to  say. ' ' 

"  Yes,  I  know  that  it  was  his  intention,  for  I  received  a 
letter  from  him,  written  after  his  arrival  at  Corunna,  saying 
that  the  embarkation  could  not  be  effected  without  a  battle, 
and  that  if  he  beat  Soult  he  should  at  once  embark  and  bring 
the  troops  round  here,  as  Ney's  approaching  force  would 
render  Corunna  untenable.  Just  at  present  the  arrival  of 
20,000  tried  troops  would  be  invaluable.  General  Baird 
will,  of  course,  have  succeeded  Sir  John  Moore  ?  ' ' 

"General  Baird  was  severely  wounded,  sir.     He  had  just 


AN   ESCAPE  201 

ridden  up  to  General  Fane  when  he  was  struck.  General 
Hope  would  therefore  be  in  command  after  Sir  John  Moore 
was  killed." 

"  I  have  heard  no  particulars  of  the  battle,"  Sir  John  said, 
"  beyond  that  it  has  been  fought  and  Soult  has  been  driven 
back,  that  Sir  John  Moore  is  killed,  and  that  the  army  has 
embarked  safely.  And  do  I  understand  you  that  it  was  towards 
the  end  of  the  battle  that  you  were  hurt  ?  ' ' 

"  It  was  getting  dusk  at  the  time,  General,  but  I  cannot 
say  how  long  fighting  went  on  afterwards. ' ' 

"  Will  you  please  to  sit  down  at  that  table  and  give  me,  as 
nearly  as  you  can,  a  sketch  of  the  position  of  our  troops  and 
those  of  the  French,  and  then  explain  to  me,  as  far  as  you 
may  have  seen  or  know,  the  movements  of  the  corps  and  the 
course  of  events. ' ' 

As  Terence  had,  the  evening  before  the  battle,  seen  a  sketch- 
map  on  which  General  Fane  had  written  the  names  and 
positions  of  the  British  force  and  those  of  the  French,  he  was 
able  to  draw  one  closely  approximating  to  it.  In  ten  minutes 
he  got  up  and  handed  the  sketch  to  Sir  John  Cradock. 

"  I  am  afraid  it  is  very  rough,  sir,"  he  said,  "  but  I  think 
that  it  may  give  you  an  idea  of  the  position  of  the  town  and 
the  neighbouring  heights,  and  the  position  occupied  by  our 
troops. ' ' 

"  Excellent,  Mr.  O'Connor  !  " 

"I  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  a  sketch-map  that  the 
brigadier  drew  out,  sir." 

"Well,  benefited  from  it.  Now  point  out  to  me  the 
various  movements.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  large  French 
battery  must  have  galled  the  whole  line  terribly  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  itself  very  exposed." 

"  General  Fane  said,  sir,  that  he  thought  Soult  was  likely 
to  be  over-confident.  Our  army  was  in  frightful  confusion 


WITH    MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

on  the  retreat  from  Lugo,  and  the  number  of  stragglers  was 
enormous.  Although  many  came  in  next  day,  the  field -state 
showed  that  over  2,000  were  still  absent  from  the  colours. 
The  brigadier  was  observing  that  there  was  one  advantage  in 
this,  namely,  that  Soult  would  suppose  that  the  whole  army 
was  disorganized,  and  might,  therefore,  take  more  liberties 
than  he  would  otherwise  have  done  ;  and  that,  at  any  rate,  he 
was  likely  to  rely  upon  his  great  force  of  cavalry  on  this  plateau 
to  cover  the  battery  hill  from  any  attack  on  its  left  flank.  It 
was  for  that  purpose  that  General  Paget  posted  one  of  the 
regiments  on  this  eminence  on  the  right  of  the  valley,  which 
had  the  effect  of  completely  checking  the  French  cavalry." 

He  then  related  the  incidents  of  the  battle  as  far  as  they 
had  come  under  his  notice. 

"  A  very  ably  fought  battle,"  Sir  John  Cradock  said,  as  he 
followed  on  the  map  Terence's  account  of  the  movements. 
"  Soult  evidently  miscalculated  Sir  John's  strength  and  the 
fighting  powers  of  his  troops.  He  hurled  his  whole  force 
directly  against  the  position,  specially  endeavouring  to  turn 
our  right,  but  the  force  he  employed  there  was  altogether 
insufficient  for  the  purpose.  From  his  position  I  gather  that 
he  could  not  have  known  of  the  existence  of  Paget's  reserve 
up  the  valley,  but  he  must  have  seen  Fraser's  division  on 
the  hill  above  Coranto.  I  suppose  he  reckoned  that  this  turn- 
ing movement  would  shake  the  British  position,  throw  them 
into  confusion,  and  enable  his  direct  attack  to  be  successful 
before  Fraser  could  come  to  their  support.  I  am  much  obliged 
to  you  for  your  description,  Mr.  O'Connor;  it  is  very  clear  and 
lucid.  I  will  write  a  note,  which  you  shall  take  to  Mr.  Villiers, 
and  it  is  possible  that  you  may  get  help  from  him  for  Ro- 
mana.  I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  dine  with  me  here  at  six 
o'clock." 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  General,  but  I  have  nothing 


A   DANGEROUS   MISSION  203 

but  the  uniform  in  which  I  stand,  which  is,  as  you  see,  almost 
in  rags,  and  stained  with  mire  and  blood." 

"  I  think  it  is  probable  that  you  will  have  no  difficulty 
in  buying  a  fresh  uniform  in  the  city  ;  so  many  officers  have 
come  out  here  with  exaggerated  ideas  of  the  amount  of  trans- 
port, that  they  have  had  to  cut  down  their  wardrobes  to  a 
very  large  extent." 

He  touched  the  bell.  "  Will  you  ask  Captain  Nelson  to 
step  in,"  he  said  to  the  clerk  who  answered.  "  Captain  Nel- 
son," he  said,  as  one  of  his  staff  entered,  "  I  want  you  to  take 
Mr.  O'Connor  under  your  charge.  He  has  just  arrived  from 
the  north,  and  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Corunna.  He  was 
on  Brigadier  Fane's  staff.  As  at  present  he  is  unattached,  I 
shall  put  him  down  in  orders  to-morrow  as  an  extra  aide-de- 
camp on  my  staff.  He  will  be  leaving  to-morrow  for  the 
northern  frontier.  I  wish  you  to  see  if  you  cannot  get  him 
an  undress  uniform.  He  belongs  to  the  infantry.  I  will  give 
you  an  order  on  the  paymaster,  Mr.  O'Connor,  to  honour 
your  draft  for  any  amount  that  you  may  need.  I  dare  say 
you  are  in  arrears  of  pay." 

"  Yes,  Sir  John.  I  have  drawn  nothing  since  we  marched 
from  Torres  Vedras  in  October." 


CHAPTER   XII 

A    DANGEROUS    MISSION 


CAPTAIN  NELSON  at  once  took  Terence  under  his  charge. 
"  You  certainly  look  as  if  you  wanted  a  new  uniform," 
he  said.     "  You  must  have  had  an  awfully  rough  time  of  it. 
If  only  for  the  sake  of  policy,  we  ought  to  get  you  into  a  new 
one  as  soon  as  possible,  for  the  very  sight  of  yours  would  be 


204  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

likely  to  demoralize  the  whole  division  by  affording  a  painful 
example  of  what  they  might  expect  on  a  campaign." 

Terence  laughed.  "  I  know  I  look  a  perfect  scarecrow.  Do 
you  think  that  you  can  find  me  something?  I  really  don't 
know  what  I  should  have  done  if  I  had  not  had  my  greatcoat, 
for  I  could  never  have  ventured  to  walk  through  the  street 
from  the  little  inn  where  I  put  up  my  horse,  if  I  could  not 
have  hidden  myself  in  it." 

"  I  can,  fortunately,  put  you  in  the  right  way  without  diffi- 
culty. There  is  a  man  here  who  has  made  a  business  of 
buying  up  uniforms.  I  believe  he  sends  most  of  them  to 
England,  where  they  would  certainly  fetch  a  good  deal  more 
than  he  gave  for  them  ;  but  I  know  that  he  keeps  a  stock  by 
him,  for  there  is  a  constant  demand.  The  work  out  in  the 
country  here  does  for  a  uniform  in  no  time,  and  many  men 
who,  before  marching  for  the  frontier,  parted  with  all  their 
extra  kit  for  a  song,  are  glad  enough  to  write  to  him  for  a 
fresh  outfit  at  three  times  the  price  he  gave  them  two  or  three 
months  before." 

"  I  wonder  they  don't  send  their  surplus  outfit  back  to  Eng- 
land direct,"  Terence  said. 

"  Well,  you  see,  there  is  the  risk  of  the  things  being  lost  or 
stolen  on  the  way  home,  or  being  ruined  by  damp  before  they 
are  wanted  again.  Besides,  a  man  thinks  there  is  no  saying 
whether  he  shall  ever  want  them  again,  or  how  long  the  war 
will  last,  and  is  glad  to  take  anything  he  can  get  to  save  him- 
self any  further  bother  about  them." 

Terence  was  fortunate  in  being  able  to  buy  an  undress  uni- 
form, with  facings  similar  to  those  of  his  own  regiment,  and  to 
lay  in  a  stock  of  underclothes  at  a  very  much  lower  price  than 
he  could  have  purchased  them  for  even  at  home.  Before  leav- 
ing the  shop  he  put  on  his  new  uniform  and  left  the  old  one 
to  be  thrown  away. 


A   DANGEROUS    MISSION  205 

"  Now,  '  Captain  Nelson  said,  when  they  left  the  shop,  "  it 
is  just  our  lunch  time.  You  must  come  with  me  and  tell  us 
all  about  your  wonderful  march  and  the  fight  at  the  end  of 
it." 

"  I  was  going  down  to  see  about  my  horse." 

"  Oh,  that  is  all  right!  I  sent  down  an  orderly  to  bring 
him  up  to  our  stables.  There,  this  is  where  we  mess,"  he 
said,  stopping  before  a  hotel.  "We  find  it  much  more 
comfortable  than  having  it  in  a  room  at  head-quarters.  Be- 
sides, one  gets  away  from  duty  here.  Of  course,  the  chief 
knows  where  we  are,  and  can  send  for  us  if  we  are  wanted ; 
but  one  gets  off  being  set  to  do  a  lot  of  office  work  in  the 
evening,  and  we  find  ourselves  much  more  free  and  comfort- 
able when  we  haven't  got  two  or  three  of  the  big-wigs  of  the 
staif.  So  they  have  a  little  mess  of  their  own  there,  and  we 
have  a  room  kept  for  ourselves  here. ' ' 

There  were  more  than  a  dozen  officers  assembled  when  the 
two  entered  the  room,  where  a  meal  was  laid ;  for  Captain 
Nelson  had  looked  into  the  hotel  for  a  moment  on  their  way 
to  the  tailor's,  to  tell  his  companions  who  Terence  was,  and 
to  say  that  he  should  bring  him  in  to  lunch.  They  had  told 
some  of  their  acquaintances.  Terence  was  introduced  all 
round,  and  as  soon  as  the  first  course  was  taken  off  the  table 
he  was  asked  many  questions  as  to  the  march  and  battle ;  and 
by  the  time  when,  an  hour  later,  the  party  broke  up,  they  had 
learned  the  leading  incidents  of  the  campaign. 

"You  may  guess  how  anxious  we  were  here,"  one  of  tViem 
said,  "  when  Moore's  last  despatch  from  Salamanca  arrived, 
saying  that  he  intended  to  advance,  and  stating  his  reasons. 
Then  there  was  a  long  silence ;  all  sorts  of  rumours  reached 
us.  Some  said  that,  aided  by  a  great  Spanish  army,  he  had 
overthrown  Napoleon,  and  had  entered  Madrid;  others, 
again,  stated  that  his  army  had  been  crushed,  and  he,  with  the 


206  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

survivors,  were  prisoners,  and  were  on  their  way  to  the  frontier 
— in  fact,  we  had  no  certain  news  until  three  days  ago,  when 
we  heard  of  the  battle,  his  death,  and  the  embarkation  of  the 
army,  and  its  sailing  for  England.  The  last  was  a  terrible 
blunder." 

"Only  a  temporary  one,  I  should  think,"  Captain  Nelson 
said.  "From  Mr.  O'Connor's  account  of  the  state  of  the 
army,  I  should  think  that  it  is  just  as  well  that  they  should 
have  gone  home  to  obtain  an  entirely  new  rig-out;  there 
would  be  no  means  of  fitting  them  out  here.  A  fortnight 
ought  to  be  enough  to  set  them  up  in  all  respects,  and  as  we 
certainly  shall  not  be  able  to  march  for  another  month ' ' 

"  For  another  three  months,  you  mean,  Nelson." 

"  Well,  perhaps  for  another  three  months,  the  delay  will 
not  matter  materially." 

"  It  won't  matter  at  all,  if  the  French  oblige  us  by  keeping 
perfectly  quiet,  but  if  Soult  menaces  Portugal  with  invasion 
from  the  north,  Lapisse  from  the  centre,  and  Victor  from  the 
south,  we  may  have  to  defend  ourselves  here  in  Lisbon  before 
six  weeks  are  out." 

"Personally,  I  should  not  be  sorry,"  another  said,  "if 
Soult  does  invade  the  north  and  captures  Oporto,  hangs  the 
bishop,  and  all  the  Junta.  It  would  be  worth  ten  thousand 
men  to  us,  for  they  are  continually  at  mischief.  They  do 
nothing  themselves,  and  thwart  all  our  efforts.  They  are 
worse  than  the  Junta  here — if  that  is  possible — and  they 
have  excited  the  peasants  so  much  against  us  that  they  desert 
in  thousands  as  fast  as  they  are  collected,  while  the  population 
here  hate  us,  I  believe,  quite  as  much  as  they  hate  the 
French.  But  why  they  should  do  so  Heaven  knows,  when  we 
have  spent  more  money  in  Portugal  than  the  whole  country 
contained  before  we  came  here." 

After  the  party  had  broken  up,  Captain  Nelson  took  Ter- 


A   DANGEROUS   MISSION  207 

ence  to  Mr.  Villiers,  who,  on  reading  the  general's  letter  and 
hearing  from  Terence  how  Romana  was  situated,  at  once  said 
that  he  would  hand  over  to  him  20,000  dollars  to  take  to  the 
Spanish  general. 

"  How  am  I  to  carry  it,  sir?  It  will  be  of  considerable 
weight,  if  it  is  in  silver." 

"  I  will  obtain  for  you  four  good  mules,"  Mr.  Villiers  said, 
"  and  an  escort  of  twelve  Portuguese  cavalry  under  an  offi- 
cer." 

"  May  I  ask,  sir,  that  the  money  shall  be  packed  in  ammu- 
nition-boxes, and  that  no  one  except  the  officer  shall  know 
that  these  contain  anything  but  ammunition?  " 

"You  have  no  great  faith  in  Portuguese  honesty,  Mr. 
O'Connor." 

"As  to  their  honesty  as  a  general  thing,  sir,  I  express  no 
opinion,"  Terence  said,  bluntly;  "as  to  the  honesty  of  their 
political  partisans,  I  have  not  a  shadow  of  belief.  Moreover, 
there  is  no  love  lost  between  them  and  the  Spaniards,  and 
though  possibly  money  for  any  of  the  Portuguese  leaders  might 
be  allowed  to  pass  untouched  by  others — and  even  of  this  I 
have  great  doubt — I  feel  convinced  that  none  of  them  would 
allow  it  to  go  out  of  the  country  for  the  use  of  the  Spaniards 
if  they  could  lay  hold  of  it  by  the  way." 

"  Those  being  your  sentiments,  sir,  I  think  that  it  is  a  pity 
the  duty  is  not  intrusted  to  some  officer  of  broader  views." 

"  I  doubt  whether  you  would  find  one,  sir ;  especially  if  he 
has,  like  myself,  been  three  or  four  months  in  the  country.  I 
have  simply  accepted  the  duty,  and  not  sought  it,  and  should 
gladly  be  relieved  of  it.  General  Romana  sent  me  here  with 
a  despatch,  and  it  is  my  duty,  unless  General  Cradock  chooses 
another  messenger,  to  carry  back  the  reply,  and  anything  else 
with  which  I  may  be  intrusted.  I  have  for  the  past  three 
months  been  incessantly  engaged  on  arduous  and  fatiguing 


208  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

duty.  I  have  ridden  for  the  last  nine  days  by  some  of  the 
worst  roads  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  world,  I  should  say, 
and  have  before  me  the  same  journey.  Besides,  if  I  receive 
the  general's  orders  to  that  effect,  I  may  have  to  stay  with  the 
Spanish  general,  and  in  that  case  shall,  I  am  sure,  be  con- 
stantly upon  the  move,  and  that  among  wild  mountains.  If 
this  treasure  is  handed  over  to  me  I  shall  certainly  do  my  best 
to  take  it  safely  and  to  defend  it,  if  necessary,  with  my  life  ; 
but  it  is  assuredly  a  duty  of  which  I  would  gladly  be  relieved. 
But  that,  sir,  it  seems  to  me,  is  a  question  solely  for  the  com- 
mander-in-chief." 

Mr.  Villiers  gazed  in  angry  surprise  at  the  young  ensign  ; 
then  thinking,  perhaps,  that  he  would  put  himself  in  the 
wrong,  and  as  his  interferences  in  military  matters  with  Sir 
John  Cradock  had  not  met  with  the  success  he  desired  for 
them,  he  checked  the  words  that  rose  to  his  lips,  and  said, 
shortly:  "  The  convoy  will  be  ready  to  start  from  the  treasury 
at  daybreak  to-morrow." 

"  I  shall  be  there — if  so  commanded  by  General  Crad- 
ock." 

As  soon  as  they  had  left  the  house  Captain  Nelson  burst  into 
a  shout  of  laughter. 

"  What  is  it?  "  Terence  asked,  in  surprise. 

"  I  would  not  have  missed  that  for  twenty  pounds,  O'Con- 
nor; it  is  the  first  bit  of  real  amusement  I  have  had  since  I 
landed.  To  see  Villiers — who  regards  himself  as  the  greatest 
man  in  the  country,  who  not  only  thinks  that  he  regulates 
every  political  intrigue  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  but  assumes  to 
have  the  direction  of  every  military  movement  also,  and  tries 
to  dictate  to  the  general  on  purely  military  matters — quietly 
cheeked  by  an  ensign,  is  the  best  thing  I  ever  saw." 

"  But  he  has  nothing  to  do  with  military  matters,  has  he  ?  " 

"  No  more  than  that  mule-driver  there,  but  he  thinks  he 


A   DANGEROUS   MISSION  209 

has ;  and  yet,  even  in  his  own  political  line,  he  is  the  most  ill- 
informed  and  gullible  of  fools,  even  among  the  mass  of  in- 
competent agents  who  have  done  their  utmost  to  ruin  every 
plan  that  has  been  formed.  I  doubt  whether  he  has  ever 
been  correct  in  a  single  statement  that  he  has  made,  and  am 
quite  sure  that  every  prophecy  he  has  ventured  upon  has  been 
falsified,  every  negotiation  he  has  entered  into  has  failed,  and 
every  report  sent  home  to  government  is  useful  only  if  it  is 
assumed  to  be  wrong  in  every  particular ;  and  yet  the  man  is 
so  puffed  up  with  pride  and  arrogance  that  he  is  well-nigh  in- 
supportable. The  Spaniards  have  fooled  him  to  the  top  of 
his  bent ;  it  has  paid  them  to  do  so.  Through  his  repre- 
sentations the  ministry  at  home  have  distributed  millions 
among  them.  Arms  enough  have  been  sent  to  furnish  nearly 
every  able-bodied  man  in  Spain,  and  harm  rather  than  good 
has  come  of  it.  Still,  he  is  a  very  great  man,  and  our 
generals  are  obliged  to  treat  him  with  the  greatest  civility, 
and  to  pretend  to  give  grave  consideration  to  the  plans 
that,  if  they  emanated  from  any  other  man,  would  be  consid- 
ered as  proofs  that  he  was  only  fit  for  a  mad-house.  And  to 
see  you  looking  calmly  in  his  face  and  announcing  your  views 
of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  was  delightful."  And  Cap- 
tain Nelson  again  burst  into  laughter  at  the  recollection. 

Terence  joined  in  the  laugh.  "I  had  no  intention  of  of- 
fending him,"  he  said.  "  Of  course  I  have  often  heard  how 
he  was  pressing  General  Moore  to  march  into  Spain,  and 
promising  that  he  should  be  met  by  immense  armies  that 
were  eager  and  ready  to  drive  the  French  out  of  that  coun- 
try, and  were  only  waiting  for  his  coming  to  set  about  doing 
so.  I  know  that  the  brigadier  and  his  staff  used  to  talk 
about  what  they  called  Villiers'  phantom  armies,  but  as  I 
only  said  what  everyone  says  who  has  been  in  Spain,  it  never 
struck  me  that  I  was  likely  to  give  him  serious  offence." 
14 


210  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"  And  if  you  had  thought  so,  I  don't  suppose  it  would 
have  made  any  difference,  O'Connor." 

"I  don't  suppose  it  would,"  Terence  admitted;  "and 
perhaps  it  will  do  him  good  to  hear  a  straightforward  opinion 
for  once." 

"  It  will  certainly  do  him  no  harm.  Now,  you  had  better 
tell  the  chief  that  you  are  to  have  the  money.  I  should  think 
that  he  will  probably  send  a  trooper  with  you  as  your  orderly. 
Certainly,  he  has  no  reason  to  have  a  higher  opinion  of  the 
Portuguese  than  you  have." 

"I  will  go  back  with  you,  Captain  Nelson;  but  as  you 
were  present,  will  you  kindly  tell  the  general?  I  don't  like 
bothering  him." 

"  Certainly,  if  you  wish  it." 

On  arriving  at  head -quarters  Terence  sat  down  in  the  ante- 
room and  took  up  an  English  paper,  as  he  had  heard  no  home 
news  for  the  last  three  months.  Presently  Captain  Nelson 
came  out  from  the  general's  room  and  beckoned  to  him.  He 
followed  him  in.  Four  or  five  officers  of  rank  were  with  the 
general,  and  all  were  looking  greatly  amused  when  he  en- 
tered. 

"  So  you  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  money  for  Ro- 
mana,"  the  general  said. 

"Yes,  sir,  there  was  no  difficulty  about  it.  Mr.  Villiers 
asked  me  a  few  questions  as  to  the  situation  on  the  frontier, 
and  at  once  said  that  I  should  have  ^"5,000  to  take  him." 

"  Captain  Nelson  tells  us  that  you  were  unwise  enough  to 
express  an  opinion  as  to  the  honesty  of  the  Portuguese  escort 
that  he  proposed  to  send  with  you." 

"I  said  what  I  thought,  General,  and  had  no  idea  that 
Mr.  Villiers  would  take  it  as  an  offence,  as  he  seemed  to." 

"  Well,  he  has  his  own  notions  on  these  things,  you  see," 
the  general  said,  dryly,  ' '  and  they  do  not  exactly  coincide 


A   DANGEROUS   MISSION  211 

with  our  experience ;  but  then  Mr.  Villiers  claims  to  under- 
stand these  people  more  thoroughly  than  we  can  do." 

Terence  was  silent  for  a  moment.  "  I  only  went  by  what 
I  have  seen,  you  know,"  he  said,  after  a  pause,  "and  cer- 
tainly had  no  intention  of  angering  Mr.  Villiers.  But  it 
seemed  to  me  that,  as  I  was  responsible  for  taking  this  money 
to  Romana,  it  was  my  duty  to  suggest  a  precaution  that  ap- 
peared to  me  necessary. ' ' 

"  Quite  right,  quite  right;  and  it  is  just  as  well,  perhaps, 
that  Mr.  Villiers  should  occasionally  hear  the  opinions  of  of- 
ficers of  the  army  frankly  expressed.  Certainly,  I  think  that 
the  precaution  you  suggested  was  a  wise  one,  and  if  Mr. 
Villiers  does  not  do  so,  I  will  see  that  it  is  carried  out. 

"  I  have  asked  Captain  Nelson  to  go  with  you,  taking  the 
treasure,  to  the  barracks  and  see  that  the  money  is  taken  out 
of  the  cases  and  repacked  in  ammunition-boxes.  It  would  be 
unwise  in  the  extreme  to  tempt  the  cupidity  of  any  wandering 
parties  that  you  might  fall  in  with  by  the  sight  of  treasure- 
cases.  Your  suggestion  quite  justifies  the  opinion  that  I  had 
formed  of  you  from  the  brief  narrative  that  you  gave  me  of 
the  battle  of  Corunna.  For  the  present,  gentlemen,  I  have 
appointed  Mr.  O'Connor  as  an  extra  aide-de-camp  on  my 
staff.  He  served  in  that  capacity  with  Brigadier-general 
Fane  from  the  time  that  the  troops  marched  from  here,  which 
is  in  itself  a  guarantee  that  he  must,  in  the  opinion  of  that 
general,  be  thoroughly  fit  for  the  work. 

"  I  think,  Mr.  O'Connor,  that,  going  as  you  will  as  an  of- 
ficer on  my  staff,  it  is  best  that  you  should  be  accompanied 
by  a  couple  of  troopers,  and  I  have  just  spoken  to  Colonel 
Gibbons,  who  will  detach  two  of  his  best  men  for  that  service. 
In  addition  to  your  being  in  charge  of  the  treasure,  you  will 
also  carry  a  despatch  from  myself  to  General  Romana,  with 
suggestions  as  to  his  co-operation  in  harassing  the  advance  of 


WITH   MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

the  French.     I  will  not  detain  you  further  now.     Don't  for- 
get the  dinner  hour.'* 

A  large  party  sat  down  to  table.  There  were  the  officers 
Terence  had  seen  there  in  the  afternoon,  and  several  colonels 
and  heads  of  departments  of  the  army,  and  Terence,  although 
not  shy  by  nature,  felt  a  good  deal  embarrassed  when,  as  soon 
as  the  meal  was  concluded,  several  maps  were,  by  the  gen- 
eral's orders,  placed  upon  the  table,  and  he  was  asked  to  give 
as  full  an  account  as  he  was  able  of  the  events  that  had  hap- 
pened from  the  time  General  Moore  marched  with  his  army 
from  Salamanca,  and  so  cut  himself  off  from  all  communication. 

It  was  well  that  Terence  had  paid  great  attention  to  the 
conversations  between  General  Fane  and  the  officers  of  the 
brigade  staff,  had  studied  the  maps,  and  had  made  himself,  as 
far  as  he  could,  master  of  the  details  of  the  movements  of 
the  various  divisions,  and  had  gathered  from  Fane's  remarks 
a  fair  knowledge  of  General  Moore's  objects  and  intentions. 
Therefore,  when  he  had  overcome  his  first  embarrassment,  he 
was  able  to  give  a  clear  and  lucid  account  of  the  campaign, 
and  of  the  difficulties  that  Moore  had  encountered  and  over- 
come in  the  course  of  his  retreat.  The  officers  followed  his 
account  upon  the  maps,  asked  occasional  questions,  and 
showed  great  interest  in  his  description  of  the  battle. 

When  he  had  done,  Sir  John  Cradock  said  :  "  I  am  sure, 
gentlemen,  that  you  all  agree  with  me  that  Mr.  O'Connor 
has  given  us  a  singularly  clear  and  lucid  account  of  the 
operations  of  the  army,  and  that  it  is  most  creditable  that  so 
young  an  officer  should  have  posted  himself  up  so  thoroughly, 
not  only  in  the  details  of  the  work  of  his  own  brigade,  but  in 
the  general  plans  of  the  campaign  and  the  movements  of  the 
various  divisions  of  the  army. ' ' 

There  were  also  hearty  compliments  from  all  the  officers  as 
they  rose  from  the  table. 


A   DANGEROUS   MISSION 

"I  doubt,  indeed,  Sir  John,"  one  of  them  said,  "whether 
we  should  ever  have  got  so  clear  an  account  as  that  he  has 
given  from  the  official  despatches.  I  own  that  I,  for  one, 
have  never  fully  understood  what  seemed  a  hopeless  incursion 
into  the  enemy's  country,  and  I  cannot  too  much  admire  the 
daring  of  its  conception.  As  to  the  success  which  has  attended 
it,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  it  completely  paralysed  the 
march  of  the  French  armies,  and  has  given  ample  time  to  the 
southern  provinces  of  Spain  to  place  themselves  in  a  position 
of  defence.  If  they  have  not  taken  advantage  of  the  breath- 
ing time  so  given  them,  it  is  their  fault,  and  in  no  way  detracts 
from  the  chivalrous  enterprise  of  Moore." 

"No,  indeed,"  Sir  John  agreed;  "the  conception  was 
truly  an  heroic  one,  and  one  that  required  no  less  self-sacrifice 
than  daring.  There  are  few  generals  who  would  venture  on 
an  advance  when  certain  that  it  must  be  followed  by  a  retreat, 
and  that  at  best  he  could  but  hope  to  escape  from  a  terrible 
disaster.  It  is  true  that  he  gained  a  victory  which,  under 
the  circumstances,  was  a  most  glorious  one,  but  this  was  the 
effect  of  accident  rather  than  design.  Had  the  fleet  been  in 
Corunna  when  he  arrived,  he  would  have  embarked  at  once, 
and  in  that  case  he  would  have  been  attacked  with  ferocity 
by  politicians  at  home,  and  would  have  been  accused  of  sacri- 
ficing a  portion  of  his  army  on  an  enterprise  that  everyone 
could  have  seen  was  ordained  to  be  a  failure  before  it  com- 
menced." 

"  Did  you  know  General  Fane  personally  before  you  were 
appointed  to  his  staff?  " 

"  No,  General ;  he  commanded  the  brigade  of  which  my 
regiment  formed  part,  and  of  course  I  knew  him  by  sight,  but 
I  had  never  had  the  honour  of  exchanging  a  word  with  him." 

"Then,  may  I  ask  why  you  were  appointed  to  his  staff, 
Mr.  O'Connor?" 


WITH    MOORfc   AT   CORUNNA 

Terence  hesitated.  There  was  nothing  he  disliked  more 
than  talking  of  what  he  himself  had  done.  "  It  was  a  sort  of 
accident,  General." 

"How  an  accident,  Mr.  O'Connor?  Your  conduct  must 
have  attracted  his  attention  in  some  way. ' ' 

"  It  was  an  accident,  sir,"  Terence  said,  reluctantly,  "  that 
General  Fane  happened  to  be  on  board  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley's 
ship  at  Vigo  when  my  colonel  went  there  to  make  a  report  of 
some  circumstances  that  occurred  on  the  voyage." 

"  Well,  what  were  these  circumstances?  "  the  general  asked. 
"  You  have  shown  us  that  you  have  the  details  of  a  campaign 
at  your  ringer  ends,  surely  you  must  be  able  to  tell  what  those 
circumstances  were  that  so  interested  General  Fane  that  he 
selected  you  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  his  staff. ' ' 

Terence  felt  that  there  was  no  escape,  and  related  as  briefly 
as  he  could  the  account  of  the  engagement  with  the  two  pri- 
vateers, and  of  their  narrow  escape  from  being  captured  by  a 
French  frigate. 

"That  is  a  capital  account,  Mr.  O'Connor,"  Sir  John 
Cradock  said,  smiling,  as  he  brought  it  to  a  conclusion.  "  But, 
so  far,  I  fail  to  see  your  particular  share  in  the  matter." 

"  My  share  was  very  small,  sir." 

"  I  think  I  can  fill  up  the  facts  that  Mr.  O'Connor's  mod- 
esty has  prevented  him  from  stating,"  one  of  the  officers  said. 

"It  happened  that  before  we  sailed  from  Ireland  six  weeks 
ago,  an  officer  of  the  Mayo  Fusiliers,  who  had  been  invalided 
home  in  consequence  of  a  wound,  dined  at  our  mess,  and  he 
told  the  story  very  much  as  Mr.  O'Connor  has  told  it,  but  he 
added  the  details  that  Mr.  O'Connor  has  omitted.  He  stated 
that  really  the  escape  of  the  wing  of  the  regiment  was  entirely 
due  to  an  ensign  who  had  recently  joined — a  son  of  one  of 
the  captains  of  the  regiment.  He  said  that,  in  the  first  place, 
when  the  cannon  were  found  to  be  so  honeycombed  with  rust 


A   DANGEROUS   MISSION  215 

that  it  would  have  been  madness  to  attempt  to  fire  them,  this 
young  officer  suggested  that  they  should  be  bound  round  with 
rope  just  like  the  handle  of  a  cricket  bat.  This  suggestion 
was  adopted,  and  they  were  therefore  able  to  pour  in  the 
broadside  that  crippled  the  lugger  and  brought  her  sails  down, 
leaving  her  helpless  under  the  musketry  fire  of  the  troops. 
In  the  second  place,  when  the  ship  was  being  pounded  by 
the  other  privateer  without  being  able  to  make  any  reply,  and 
must  shortly  have  either  sunk  or  surrendered,  this  young 
officer  suggested  to  one  of  the  captains  that  the  lugger,  lying 
helpless  alongside,  should  be  boarded,  and  her  guns  turned 
on  the  brig,  a  suggestion  that  led  not  only  to  the  saving  of 
the  ship,  but  the  capture  of  the  brig  itself. 

"  Lastly,  when  the  French  frigate  hove  in  sight,  the  troops 
were  transferred  to  the  two  prizes,  and  were  about  to  make 
off,  in  which  case  one  of  them  would  almost  certainly  have 
been  captured.  He  suggested  that  they  should  hoist  French 
colours,  and  that  both  should  be  set  to  work  to  transfer  some 
of  the  stores  from  the  ship  to  the  privateers.  This  suggestion 
was  adopted,  with  the  result  that  on  the  frigate  approaching, 
and  seeing,  as  was  supposed,  two  French  privateers  engaged 
in  rifling  a  prize,  she  continued  on  her  way  without  troubling 
herself  further  about  them.  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  issued  a 
most  laudatory  notice  of  Mr.  O'Connor's  conduct  in  general 
orders." 

Most  of  those  present  remembered  seeing  the  order,  now 
that  it  was  mentioned,  and  the  general,  turning  to  Terence, 
who  was  colouring  scarlet  with  embarrassment  and  confusion, 
said,  kindly  : 

"  You  see,  we  have  got  at  it  after  all,  Mr.  O'Connor.  I  am 
glad  that  it  came  from  another  source,  for  I  do  not  suppose 
that  we  should  have  got  all  the  facts  from  you,  even  by  cross- 
questioning.  You  may  think,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  you 


216  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

do  think,  that  you  received  more  credit  than  you  deserved 
for  what  you  consider  were  merely  ideas  that  struck  you  at 
the  moment;  but  such  is  not  my  opinion,  nor  that,  I  am 
sure,  of  the  other  officers  present.  The  story  which  we  have 
just  heard  of  you,  and  the  account  that  you  have  given  of  the 
campaign,  afford  great  promise,  I  may  almost  say  a  certainty, 
of  your  attaining,  if  you  are  spared,  high  eminence  in  your 
profession. 

"  Your  narrative  showed  that  you  are  painstaking,  accurate, 
and  intelligent.  The  facts  that  we  have  just  heard  prove  you 
to  be  exceptionally  quick  in  conceiving  ideas,  cool  in  action, 
and  able  to  think  of  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time — all 
qualities  that  are  requisite  for  a  great  commander.  I  warmly 
congratulate  you,  that  at  the  very  commencement  of  your 
career  you  should  have  had  the  opportunity  afforded  you  for 
showing  that  you  possess  these  qualities,  and  of  gaining  the 
warm  approbation  of  men  very  much  older  .than  yourself,  and 
all  of  wide  experience  in  their  profession.  I  am  sorry  now 
that  you  are  starting  to-morrow  on  what  I  cannot  but  consider 
a  useless,  as  well  as  a  somewhat  dangerous,  undertaking.  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  have  utilized  your  services  at  once, 
and  only  hope  that  you  will  erelong  rejoin  us." 

So  saying,  he  rose.  The  hour  was  late,  for  Terence's  de- 
scription of  the  campaign  and  battle  had  necessarily  been  a 
very  long  one,  and  the  party  at  once  broke  up,  all  the  officers 
present  shaking  the  lad  warmly  by  the  hand. 

"  You  are  a  lucky  fellow,  O'Connor,"  Captain  Nelson  said, 
as  he  accompanied  him  to  his  room,  in  which  a  second  bed 
had  been  set  up  for  the  young  ensign's  accommodation. 
"  You  will  certainly  get  on  after  this.  There  were  a  dozen 
colonels  and  two  generals  of  brigade  among  the  party,  and  I 
fancy  that  there  is  not  one  of  them  that  will  not  bear  you  in 
mind  and  say  a  good  word  for  you,  if  opportunity  occurs,  and 


A    DANGEROUS    MISSION  217 

Sir  John  himself  is  sure  to  push  you  on.  I  should  say  that 
not  an  officer  of  your  rank  in  the  army  has  such  good  chances, 
and  you  look  such  a  lad,  too.  You  did  not  show  it  so  much 
when  you  first  arrived  ;  of  course  you  were  fagged  and  travel- 
stained  then,  but  now  I  should  not  take  you  for  more  than 
seventeen.  Indeed,  I  suppose  you  are  not,  as  you  only  joined 
the  service  six  months  ago." 

"  No ;  I  am  not  more  than  seventeen,"  Terence  said,  quietly, 
not  thinking  it  necessary  to  state  that  he  wanted  a  good  many 
months  yet  to  that  age,  for  to  do  so  would  provoke  questions 
as  to  how  he  obtained  his  commission  before  he  was  sixteen. 
"  But,  you  see,  I  have  had  a  good  many  advantages.  I  was 
brought  up  in  barracks,  and  I  suppose  that  sharpens  one's 
wits  a  bit.  When  I  was  quite  a  young  boy  I  used  to  be  a 
good  deal  with  the  junior  officers ;  of  course,  that  made  me 
older  in  my  ideas  than  I  should  have  been  if  I  had  always 
associated  with  boys  of  my  own  age.  Still,  it  has  been  all 
luck,  and  though  Sir  John  was  kind  enough  to  speak  very 
warmly  about  it,  I  really  can't  see  that  I  have  done  anything 
out  of  the  way. ' ' 

"  Luck  comes  to  a  good  many  fellows,  O'Connor,  but  it  is 
not  every  one  who  has  the  quickness  to  make  the  most  of  the 
opportunity.  You  may  say  that  they  are  only  ideas ;  but  you 
see  you  had  three  valuable  ideas,  and  none  of  your  brother 
officers  had  them,  and  you  cannot  deny  that  your  brains 
worked  more  quickly  than  those  of  the  others. 

"  Well,  we  may  as  well  turn  in  at  once,  as  we  have  all  got 
to  be  up  before  daylight.  I  am  very  glad  that  Sir  John  has 
given  you  a  couple  of  troopers.  It  will  make  you  feel  a  good 
deal  more  comfortable  anyhow,  even  if  you  don't  get  into  any 
adventure  where  their  aid  may  be  of  vital  importance." 

"  It  will  indeed  ;  alone  I  should  have  very  little  influence 
with  the  Portuguese  guard.  These  might  be  perfectly  honest 


218  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

themselves,  but  they  might  not  be  at  all  disposed  to  risk  their 
lives  by  offering  any  opposition  to  any  band  that  might  de- 
mand the  ammunition  they  would  believe  were  in  the  cases. 
I  was  twice  stopped  by  bands  of  scantily  armed  peasants  on  my 
way  down,  and  although  they  released  me  on  seeing  the  letter 
that  I  carried  to  the  general,  it  was  evident  that  they  felt  but 
little  good-will  towards  us,  and  had  I  had  anything  about  me 
worth  taking,  my  chance  of  reaching  Lisbon  would  have  been 
small." 

"  The  Junta  of  Oporto  has  spared  no  pains  in  spreading  all 
sorts  of  atrocious  lies  against  us  ever  since  the  escort  of  the 
French  prisoners  interfered  to  save  them  from  the  fury  of  the 
populace,  though  perhaps  the  peasants  in  this  part  of  the 
country  still  feel  grateful  to  us  for  having  delivered  them  from 
the  exactions  of  the  French. 

"In  the  north,  where  no  French  soldier  has  set  foot,  they 
have  been  taught  to  regard  us  as  enemies  to  be  dreaded  as 
much  as  the  French.  Up  to  the  present  time  all  the  orders 
for  the  raising  of  levies  have  been  disregarded  north  of  the 
Douro,  and  though  great  quantities  of  arms  have  been  sent  up 
to  Oporto,  I  doubt  whether  a  single  musket  has  been  distrib- 
uted by  the  Junta.  That  fellow  Friere,  the  general  of  what 
they  call  their  army,  is  as  bad  as  any  of  them.  I  hope  that  if 
Soult  comes  down  through  the  passes  he  will  teach  the  fellow 
and  his  patrons  a  wholesome  lesson." 

"  And  do  you  think  that  the  troops  here  will  march  north  to 
defend  Oporto?  " 

"  I  should  hardly  think  that  there  is  a  chance  of  it.  Were 
our  force  to  do  so,  Lisbon  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  Victor 
and  of  the  army  corps  at  Salamanca.  Cuesta  is,  what  he  calls, 
watching  Victor.  He  is  one  of  the  most  obstinate  and  pig- 
headed of  all  the  generals.  Victor  will  crush  him  without 
difficulty,  and  could  be  at  Lisbon  long  before  we  could  get 


AN    AWKWARD    POSITION  219 

back  from  Oporto.  No,  Lisbon  is  the  key  of  the  situation ; 
there  are  very  strong  positions  on  the  range  of  hills  between 
the  river  and  the  sea  at  Torres  Vedras,  which  could  be  held 
against  greatly  superior  forces.  The  town  itself  is  protected 
by  strong  forts,  which  have  been  greatly  strengthened  since 
we  came.  The  men-of-war  can  come  up  to  the  town,  aid  in 
its  defence,  and  bring  reinforcements ;  and  provisions  can  be 
landed  at  all  times. 

"  The  loss  of  Lisbon  would  be  a  death-blow  to  Portuguese 
independence,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  the  ministry  at  home 
would  eagerly  seize  the  opportunity  of  abandoning  the  struggle 
here  altogether.  Do  you  know  that  at  the  present  moment, 
while  urging  Sir  John  Cradock  to  take  the  offensive  with 
only  15,000  men  against  the  whole  army  of  France  in  the 
Peninsula,  they  have  had  the  folly  to  send  a  splendid  expedi- 
tion of  from  thirty  to  forty  thousand  good  troops  to  Holland, 
where  they  will  be  powerless  to  do  any  good,  while  their 
presence  here  would  be  simply  invaluable.  Well,  we  will  not 
enter  upon  that  subject  to-night ;  the  folly  and  the  incapacity 
of  Mr.  Canning  and  his  crew  is  a  subject  that,  once  begun, 
would  keep  one  talking  until  morning.' * 


CHAPTER    XIII 

AN   AWKWARD    POSITION 

WHEN  Captain  Nelson  and  Terence  went  out,  just  as  the 
morning  was  breaking,  they  found  the   two   troopers 
waiting  in  the  street.     Each  held  a  spare  horse  ;   the  one  was 
that  upon  which  Terence  had  ridden  from  Coimbra,  the  other 
was  a  fine  English  horse. 

horse  is  this?  "  Terence  asked, 


220  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

"  It  is  a  present  to  you  from  Sir  John  Cradock,"  Captain 
Nelson  said.  "  He  t6ld  me  last  night  that  the  troopers  had 
been  ordered  to  ask  for  it  when  they  took  your  horse  this 
morning,  and  that  his  men  were  ordered  to  hand  it  over  to 
them.  He  wished  me  to  tell  you  that  he  had  pleasure  in 
presenting  the  horse  to  you  as  a  mark  of  his  great  satisfaction 
at  the  manner  in  which  you  had  mastered  the  military  details 
of  Sir  John  Moore's  expedition,  and  the  clearness  with  which 
you  had  explained  them." 

"I  am  indeed  greatly  obliged  to  the  general;  it  is  most 
kind  of  him,"  Terence  said.  "Will  you  please  express  my 
thanks  to  him  in  a  proper  way,  Captain  Nelson." 

They  rode  to  the  Treasury,  where  they  found  the  Portu- 
guese escort,  with  the  mules,  waiting  them.  The  officer  in 
charge  of  the  Treasury  was  already  there,  and  admitted  the 
two  officers. 

"  I  have  packed  the  money  in  ammunition-boxes,"  he  said. 
"  I  received  instructions  from  Mr.  Villiers  to  do  so." 

"It  is  evident  that  your  words  had  some  effect,  Mr.  O'Con- 
nor," Captain  Nelson  said  aside  to  Terence.  "  I  suppose  that 
when  he  thought  it  over  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  after 
all,  your  suggestions,  were  prudent  ones,  and  that  it  would  add 
to  the  chance  of  the  money  reaching  Romana  were  he  to 
adopt  it." 

"I  am  glad  that  he  did  so,  for  had  the  money  been  placed 
in  the  ordinary  chests  and  then  brought  to  the  barracks  to  be 
packed  in  ammunition -cases,  the  Portuguese  troopers  would  all 
have  been  sure  of  the  nature  of  the  contents ;  whereas  now, 
whatever  they  may  suspect,  they  cannot  be  sure  about  it, 
because  there  is  a  large  amount  of  ammunition  stored  in  the 
same  building." 

Some  of  the  guard  stationed  in  the  Treasury  carried  the 
chests  out,  and  assisted  the,  muleteers  to  lash  them  in  their  places. 


TERENCE   RECEIVES   A   PRESENT  OF   «  HORSE  FROM  SIR  JOHN  CRADOCK. 


\ 


AN    AWKWARD    POSITION  221 

"  I  cannot  thank  you  too  warmly,  Captain  Nelson,  for  the 
kindness  that  you  have  shown  me,"  Terence  said. 

"  Not  at  all,"  that  officer  replied  ;  "I  simply  carried  out 
the  general's  orders,  and  the  duty  has  been  a  very  pleasant  one. 
No,  I  don't  think  I  would  mount  that  horse  if  I  were  you,"  he 
went  on,  as  Terence  walked  towards  his  acquisition.  "I  would 
have  him  led  as  far  as  Coimbra,  while  you  ride  the  horse  you 
borrowed  there,  then  he  will  be  fresh  for  the  further  journey." 

"  That  would  be  the  best  way,  no  doubt,  though  our  stages 
must  all  be  comparatively  short  ones,  owing  to  our  having 
mules  with  us." 

"  I  should  not  press  them  if  I  were  you.  I  don't  suppose 
that  it  will  make  much  difference  whether  Romana  gets  the 
money  a  few  days  sooner  or  later." 

"  None  whatever,  I  should  say,"  Terence  laughed,  as  he 
mounted  his  horse.  "Still,  I  do  think  that  he  will  be  able 
to  gather  a  mob  of  peasants.  Of  course,  being  almost  without 
arms,  they  will  be  of  no  use  whatever  for  fighting,  but  still  they 
may  harass  Soult's  communications,  cut  off  stragglers,  and 
compel  him  to  move  slowly  and  cautiously." 

Terence  now  saluted  the  Portuguese  officer,  who  said,  as  he 
returned  the  salute  : 

"  My  name,  senor,  is  Juan  Herrara." 

"And  mine  is  Terence  O'Connor,  sefior.  Our  journey 
will  be  a  somewhat  long  one  together,  and  I  hope  that  we 
shall  meet  with  no  adventures  or  accidents  by  the  way." 

"  I  hope  not,  senor.  My  instructions  are  simple;  I  am  to 
place  myself  under  your  orders,  and  to  convey  eight  cases  of 
ammunition  to  the  northern  frontier,  and  to  follow  the  routes 
that  you  may  point  out.  I  was  ordered  also  to  pick  the  men 
who  are  to  form  the  escort.  I  have  done  so,  and  I  think  I 
can  answer  that  they  can  be  relied  upon  to  do  their  duty  un- 
der all  circumstances. ' ' 


WITH    MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

Terence  now  turned,  and  with  a  hearty  farewell  to  Captain 
Nelson,  rode  on  by  the  side  of  Lieutenant  Herrara.  The  two 
British  troopers  followed  them,  the  four  mules  with  their 
two  muleteers  kept  close  behind,  and  the  twelve  Portuguese 
troopers  brought  up  the  rear. 

"  It  is  a  strong  escort  for  four  mules  carrying  ammunition," 
the  Portuguese  officer  said,  with  a  smile. 

"It  may  seem  so,"  Terence  laughed,  "but  you  see  the 
country,  especially  north  of  the  Douro,  is  greatly  disturbed." 

"  Very  much  so,  and  I  think  that  the  precaution  that  has 
been  taken  is  a  very  wise  one.  I  have  been  informed  what  is 
really  in  the  cases.  Were  I  going  by  myself  with  a  sergeant 
and  twelve  men,  I  should  say  that  to  put  the  money  in  am- 
munition-cases was  not  only  absolutely  useless  but  dangerous, 
the  disproportion  between  the  force  and  the  value  of  the  am- 
munition would  be  so  great  that  it  would  attract  attention  at 
once,  but  as  you  are  with  us  it  is  more  likely  to  pass  without 
observation.  You  are  an  officer  on  the  staff  of  the  English 
general.  You  have  your  own  two  orderlies,  and,  as  you  are 
carrying  despatches,  it  is  considered  necessary  that  you  should 
have  an  escort  of  our  people.  The  cases  in  that  event  would 
seem  to  be  of  little  importance,  but  to  be  simply  travelling 
with  us  to  have  the  advantage  of  the  protection  of  our  escort. ' ' 

' '  You  are  quite  right,  Senor  Herrara,  and  it  would  have 
been  vastly  better  had  the  money  been  stowed  in  sacks  filled 
up  with  grain;  then  they  could  follow  a  short  distance  behind 
us,  and  it  would  seem  that  they  were  simply  carrying  forage 
for  our  use  on  the  road." 

' '  That  would  have  been  very  much  better,  sefior.  You 
might  have  it  done  at  Torres  Vedras." 

"  The  money  is  in  bags,  each  containing  two  hundred  dol- 
lars. There  will  be  no  trouble  in  transferring  them  to  sacks 
filled  with  plenty  of  forage.  Two  of  your  soldiers  have  be- 


AN    AWKWARD    POSITION  223 

hind  them  a  bundle  or  two  of  faggots,  a  basket  of  fowls,  and 
other  matters  ;  these  can  be  piled  on  the  top  of  the  sacks,  so 
that  the  fact  that  the  principal  load  was  forage  would  hardly 
be  noticed.  You  might  mention  to  the  muleteers  that  I 
thought  that  it  would  be  a  considerable  saving  of  weight  if  we 
used  sacks  instead  of  those  heavy  cases,  and  that  the  ammuni- 
tion would  travel  just  as  well  in  the  one  as  the  other.  We 
must  arrange  so  that  the  muleteers  do  not  suspect  anything. ' ' 
•  «  'As  a  rule,"  Herrara  said,  "  they  are  very  trustworthy. 
There  is  scarcely  a  case  known  in  which  they  have  stolen 
goods  intrusted  to  them,  however  valuable ;  but  it  would  be 
easy  to  place  a  few  packets  of  ammunition  in  the  mouth  of 
each  sack,  and  call  them  in  to  cord  them  up  firmly.  The 
sight  of  the  ammunition  would  go  far  to  lessen  any  suspicions 
they  might  have." 

They  reached  Torres  Vedras  that  night.  Terence  spoke  to 
the  officer  in  command  there,  and  was  furnished  with  the  sacks 
he  required,  and  enough  forage  to  fill  them.  The  boxes  were 
put  into  a  room  in  the  barracks,  and  here  Terence,  with  his 
two  orderlies,  opened  the  cases  and  transferred  the  bags  of 
money  to  the  centre  of  the  sacks.  Two  or  three  dozen  packets 
of  ammunition  were  obtained,  and  a  few  put  into  the  mouths 
of  the  sacks.  These  were  left  open,  and  the  room  locked  up, 
two  of  the  Portuguese  soldiers  being  placed  on  guard  before 
it.  Terence  and  Lieutenant  Herrara  were  invited  to  dine  at 
mess  and  had  quarters  assigned  to  them,  and  Terence,  after 
dinner,  again,  but  much  more  briefly  than  before,  gave  the 
officers  at  the  station  a  sketch  of  the  retreat  and  battle. 

The  next  morning  the  muleteers  were  called  in  to  fasten  up 
the  sacks.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  officer  in  command,  a  tent 
was  also  taken. 

"You  may  want  it  badly  before  you  are  done,"  he  said. 
"If  I  were  you  I  should  always  have  it  pitched,  except  when 


224  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

you  are  at  a  village,  for  you  can  have  the  sacks  in  as  beds, 
and  so  keep  them  under  your  eye  ;  and  if,  as  you  tell  me,  you 
are  giving  out  that  they  contain  ammunition,  it  would  seem 
but  a  natural  step,  as  you  are  so  able  to  keep  it  dry." 

The  mules  looked  more  heavily  laden  than  upon  the  pre- 
ceding day,  but  they  were  carrying  no  heavier  burden,  for  the 
weight  of  the  tent,  its  poles,  the  basket  of  fowls,  Terence's 
valise,  and  other  articles,  were  considerably  less  than  those  of 
the  eight  heavy  cases  that  had  been  left  behind.  The  two 
officers  now  rode  at  the  head  of  the  detachment,  and  two  only 
of  the  Portuguese  soldiers  kept  in  rear  of  the  mules,  which  now 
followed  at  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  yards  behind  them. 
They  stopped  that  night  at  Rolica  and  the  next  at  Leirya. 
This  was  a  long  march,  and  a  short  one  the  next  day  brought 
them  to  Pombal,  and  the  following  afternoon  they  arrived  at 
Coimbra.  Here  they  spent  another  pleasant  evening  with  the 
regiment  stationed  in  the  town. 

"By  the  way,  O'Connor,"  one  of  the  officers  said,  after 
the  dinner  was  over  and  cigars  lighted,  "  I  suppose  you  don't 
happen  to  have  any  relations  at  Oporto  ?  ' ' 

"  Well,  I  do  happen  to  have  some,"  Terence  answered,  in 
some  surprise.  "  Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

"  Well,  that  is  singular,"  the  officer  said  ;  "I  will  tell  you 
how  it  happened.  I  was  with  the  party  that  escorted  the 
French  prisoners  down  to  Oporto.  Just  as  we  had  got  into 
the  town — it  was  before  the  row  began,  and  being  early  in 
the  morning,  there  were  very  few  people  about — a  head  ap- 
peared at  a  window  on  the  second  floor  of  a  big  convent 
standing  on  the  left  side  of  the  road.  I  remember  the  name 
was  carved  over  the  door — it  was  the  Convent  of  Santa  Maria. 
I  happened  to  catch  sight  of  the  nun,  and  she  at  once  dropped 
a  little  letter,  which  fell  close  to  me.  I  picked  it  up  and 
stuck  it  into  my  glove,  and  thought  no  more  about  it  for  a 


AN   AWKWARD    POSITION  225 

/ 

time,  for  the  mob  soon  began  to  gather,  to  yell  and  threaten 
the  prisoners,  and  my  hands  were  too  full,  till  we  had  got  them 
safely  on  board  a  ship,  to  think  any  more  of  the  matter.  When 
I  took  off  my  glove  the  letter  fell  out.  It  was  simply  ad- 
dressed '  to  an  English  officer. ' 

"  '  /,  an  English  girl,  am  detained  here,  a  prisoner,  princi- 
pally because  my  Spanish  relations  wish  to  seize  my  property.  I 
have  been  made  a  nun  by  force,  though  my  father  was  a  Prot- 
estant, and  taught  me  his  religion.  I  pray  you  to  endeavour  to 
obtain  my  freedom.  I  am  made  most  miserable  here,  and  am 
kept  in  solitary  confinement.  I  have  nothing  to  eat  but  bread 
and  water,  because  I  will  not  sign  a  renunciation  of  my  prop- 
erty. The  Bishop  of  Oporto  has  himself  threatened  me,  and  it 
is  useless  to  appeal  to  him.  Nothing  but  an  English  army  being 
stationed  here  can  save  me.  Have  pity  upon  me,  and  aid  me  ' 

"It  was  signed  'Mary  O'Connor.1  Of  course  no  British 
troops  have  been  there  since,  but  if  we  are  sent  there  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  general,  and 
ask  him  to  interfere  on  the  poor  girl's  behalf;  though  I  know 
that  it  would  be  an  awkward  matter.  For  if  there  is  one 
thing  that  the  Portuguese  are  more  touchy  about  than  another, 
it  is  any  interference  in  religious  matters,  and  the  bishop,  who 
is  a  most  intolerant  rascal,  would  be  the  last  man  who  would 
give  way  on  such  a  subject. ' ' 

"  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  in  the  world  but  that  it  is  a 
cousin  of  mine,"  Terence  said.  "  Her  father  went  out  to  join 
a  firm  of  wine  merchants  in  Oporto.  I  know  that  he  married  a 
very  rich  Portuguese  heiress,  and  that  they  had  one  daughter. 
My  father  told  me  that  he  gathered  from  his  cousin's  letters 
that  he  and  his  wife  did  not  get  on  very  well  together.  He 
died  two  years  ago,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  mother, 
'5 


226  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

who  may  perhaps  want  to  marry  again,  has  shut  the  girl  up 
in  a  convent  to  get  rid  of  her  altogether,  and  to  make  her 
sign  a  document  renouncing  her  right  to  the  property  in  favour 
of  herself,  or  possibly,  as  the  bishop  seems  to  have  meddled 
in  the  affair,  partly  of  the  Church. 

"  I  quite  see  that  nothing  can  be  done  now,  but  if  we  do 
occupy  Oporto,  some  day,  which  is  likely  enough,  I  will  speak 
to  the  general,  and  if  he  says  that  it  is  a  matter  that  he  cannot 
entertain,  I  will  see  what  I  can  do  to  get  her  out." 

"It  is  awkward  work,  O'Connor,  fooling  with  a  nunnery 
either  here  or  in  Spain.  The  Portuguese  are  not  so  bigoted 
as  the  Spaniards  across  the  frontier,  but  there  is  not  much 
difference,  and  if  anyone  is  caught  meddling  with  a  nunnery 
they  would  tear  him  to  pieces,  especially  in  Oporto,  where 
men  who  are  even  suspected  of  hostility  to  the  bishop  are  mur- 
dered every  day. ' ' 

"  I  don't  want  to  run  the  risk  of  being  torn  to  pieces,  cer- 
tainly, but  after  what  you  have  told  me  of  her  letter,  I  will 
not  let  my  little  cousin  be  imprisoned  all  her  life  in  a  nunnery, 
and  robbed  of  her  property,  without  making  some  strong  effort 
to  save  her." 

"  I  will  give  you  the  letter  presently,  O'Connor ;  I  have  it 
in  a  pocket-book  at  my  quarters.  By  the  by,  how  old  is  your 
cousin  ?  ' ' 

"  About  my  own  age,  or  a  little  younger." 

The  subject  of  the  conversation  was  then  changed,  and  half 
an  hour  later  the  officer  left  the  room  and  returned  with  the 
letter. 

"  At  any  rate,"  he  said,  "  if  we  do  go  to  Oporto  you  will 
have  more  opportunity  for  getting  the  general  to  move  than 
I  should." 

Terence  had  handed  over  the  horse  he  had  borrowed,  with 
many  thanks  for  its  use,  and  received  his  own  again,  which 


AN   AWKWARD   POSITION 

was  in  good  condition  after  its  rest  of  seven  or  eight  days. 
It  was  by  no  means  a  valuable  animal,  but  he  thought  it  as 
well  to  take  it  on  with  him  in  case  any  of  the  other  horses 
should  meet  with  an  accident  or  break  down  during  the  jour- 
ney through  the  mountains. 

Coimbra  was  the  last  British  station  through  which  they 
would  pass,  and  the  real  difficulties  of  the  journey  would  now 
begin.  Terence  had,  before  starting,  received  a  sum  of  money 
for  the  maintenance  of  himself  and  his  escort  upon  the  way, 
and  he  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  see  that  the  troopers  were 
comfortable  at  their  various  halting-places. 

The  journey  as  far  as  the  Douro  passed  without  any  advent- 
ure. They  encountered  on  the  road  several  bands  of  peasants 
armed  with  pikes,  clubs,  hoes,  and  a  few  guns.  These  were 
for  the  most  part  ordenancas  or  levies,  called  out  when  a  larger 
force  than  the  regular  troops  and  militia  was  required.  They 
were  on  their  way  to  join  the  forces  assembling  under  the 
edicts,  and  beyond  pausing  to  stare  at  the  British  officer  with 
the  two  dragoons  behind  him  and  an  escort  of  their  own  troops, 
they  paid  no  attention  to  the  party. 

They  crossed  the  Douro  at  St.  Joa  de  Pesquiera,  and  on 
stopping  at  a  large  village  some  ten  miles  beyond,  found  it 
occupied  by  a  rabble  of  some  two  thousand  men,  absolutely 
useless  for  service  in  the  field,  but  capable  of  offering  an 
obstinate  defence  to  the  passage  of  a  river,  or  of  impeding  an 
enemy's  advance  through  a  mountain  defile.  As  they  stopped 
before  the  principal  inn  a  man,  dressed  in  some  attempt  at  a 
uniform,  came  out  from  a  door. 

"  You  are  a  British  officer,  sir?  "  he  asked  Terence,  raising 
his  broad  hat  courteously. 

"  I  am  an  officer  on  the  English  general's  staff,  and  am  pro- 
ceeding on  a  mission  from  him  to  the  northern  frontier  to 
ascertain  the  best  means  of  defence,  and  the  route  that  the 


228  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

enemy  are  most  likely  to  move  by  if  they  attempt  to  invade 
Portugal  from  that  direction." 

"  The  French  general  would  hardly  venture  to  do  that,"  the 
officer  said,  disdainfully,  "  when  there  will  be  50,000  Portuguese 
to  bar  his  way. ' ' 

"  He  may  be  in  ignorance  of  the  force  that  will  gather  to 
meet  him,"  Terence  said,  gravely,  and  with  difficulty  restrain- 
ing a  smile  at  the  confident  tone  of  this  leader  of  an  armed 
mob.  "  However,  I  have  my  orders  to  carry  out.  Do  you 
not  think,"  he  said,  turning  to  Herrara,  "  that  it  will  be  better 
for  us  to  go  on  to  the  next  hamlet,  if  there  is  one  within  two 
or  three  miles.  I  fear  there  is  little  chance  of  obtaining  any 
accommodation  for  our  men  here. ' ' 

"  There  is  no  need  for  that,"  the  Portuguese  colonel  broke 
in.  "  There  is  a  large  house  at  the  end  of  the  village  that  is 
at  present  vacant ;  the  proprietor,  who  was  a  disturber  of  the 
peace,  and  who  belonged  to  the  French  faction,  was  killed  last 
week  in  the  course  of  a  disturbance  created  by  him.  I,  as  Com- 
missioner of  the  Junta  here,  had  the  house  closed  up,  but  it  is 
quite  at  your  service. ' ' 

As  the  march  had  already  been  a  long  one,  Terence  thought 
it  best  to  accept  the  offer.  The  colonel  called  a  man,  who 
presently  brought  a  key,  and  accompanied  them  to  the  house 
in  question.  It  showed  signs  at  once  of  mob  violence.  The 
snow  in  the  garden  was  trampled  down,  the  windows  broken, 
and  one  of  the  lower  ones  smashed  in  as  if  an  entry  had  been  ef- 
fected here.  The  door  was  riddled  with  bullet  holes.  Upon  this 
being  opened  the  destruction  within  was  seen  to  be  complete, 
rooms  being  strewn  with  broken  furniture  and  litter  of  all  sorts. 

"At  any  rate  there  is  plenty  of  firewood,"  the  lieutenant 
said,  as  he  ordered  his  men  to  clear  out  one  of  the  rooms. 
* '  There  has  been  dastardly  work  here, ' '  he  went  on,  as  the  man 
who  had  brought  the  key  left  the  place. 


AN    AWKWARD    POSITION  229 

"  Yes,  I  have  no  doubt  the  proprietor,  whoever  he  was,  has 
been  foully  murdered,  and  as  likely  as  not  by  the  orders  of 
that  fellow  we  met,  who  says  he  is  Commissioner  of  the  Junta. 
I  should  not  be  surprised  if  we  have  trouble  with  him  before 
we  have  done.  I  should  think,  Herrara,  you  had  better  send 
off  a  couple  of  men  to  get  what  they  can  in  the  way  of  pro- 
visions and  a  skin  of  wine.  This  is  a  cheerless-looking  place, 
and  these  broken  windows  are  not  of  much  use  for  keeping  out 
the  cold.  Bull,  you  had  better  see  if  you  can  find  something 
among  all  this  rubbish  to  hang  up  in  front  of  the  window,  for 
in  its  present  state  it  merely  creates  a  draught." 

The  orderly  went  out,  and  returned  with  two  torn  curtains. 

"There  has  been  some  bad  work  going  on  here,  sir,"  he 
said.  "  There  are  pools  of  blood  in  three  of  the  rooms  up- 
stairs, and  it  is  evident  that  there  has  been  a  desperate  struggle. 
One  of  the  doors  is  broken  in,  and  there  are  several  shot-holes 
through  it." 

"  I  am  afraid  there  has  been  bad  work.  I  suppose  the  man 
here  was  obnoxious  to  somebody,  so  they  murdered  him.  How- 
ever, it  is  not  our  business." 

Some  of  the  horses  were  stabled  in  a  large  shed,  the  others 
in  the  lower  rooms  of  the  house,  the  soldiers  and  muleteers 
taking  possession  of  the  large  kitchen,  where  they  soon  had 
a  huge  fire  burning.  The  windows  on  this  side  of  the  house 
were  unbroken.  The  two  orderlies  soon  fastened  up  the 
curtains  across  the  windows  of  the  officers'  room,  and  when  the 
fire  was  lighted  it  had  a  more  cheerful  aspect.  The  burdens 
of  the  mules  were  brought  into  the  room  opposite,  where  there 
was  a  key  in  the  door  and  bars  across  the  windows.  Presently 
the  soldiers  returned  with  some  meat,  a  couple  of  fowls,  bread, 
and  some  wine,  together  with  a  bunch  of  candles.  The  fowls 
were  soon  plucked,  cut  in  two,  and  grilled  over  the  fire,  and 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  the  men's  return  the  two  officers 


230  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

sat  down  to  supper.  The  meal  was  just  finished  when  there 
was  a  knock  at  the  outer  door,  and  the  soldier  acting  as  sentry 
came  in  and  said  that  Colonel  Cortingos  desired  to  speak  to 
them. 

"  I  suppose  that  is  the  fellow  we  saw  in  the  town,"  Terence 
said;  "  show  him  in." 

The  supposition  was  a  correct  one,  for  the  man  entered,  ac- 
companied by  two  others.  Terence  had  no  doubt  that  this 
fellow  was  the  author  of  the  attack  upon  the  house,  and  the 
murderer  of  the  proprietor  and  others.  He  did  not  feel  dis- 
posed to  be  exceptionally  civil  to  him,  but  as  he  had  a  couple 
of  thousand  men  under  his  command  and  had  certainly  put 
the  only  available  place  in  the  village  at  their  disposal,  he  rose 
as  he  entered. 

"  These  two  gentlemen,"  the  colonel  began,  "  form,  with 
myself,  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Junta  of  Oporto  to 
organize  the  national  resistance  here  and  in  the  surrounding 
neighbourhood,  to  keep  our  eye  upon  persons  suspected  of 
being  favourable  to  the  enemy,  and  to  arrest  and  send  them 
to  Oporto  for  trial.  We  are  also  enjoined  to  make  close  in- 
quiries into  the  business  of  all  persons  who  may  pass  through 
here." 

"  I  have  already  told  you,"  Terence  said,  quietly,  "  that  I 
am  an  officer  on  the  staff  of  the  English  general,  and  that  I 
have  a  mission  from  him  to  see  what  are  the  best  means  of  de- 
fending the  northern  passes,  and,  I  may  add,  to  enter  into 
such  arrangements  as  I  may  think  proper  with  the  leaders  of 
any  bands  who  may  be  gathered  for  the  purpose  of  defending 
them.  As  I  am  acting  under  the  direct  orders  of  the  general, 
I  in  no  way  recognize  the  right  of  any  local  authority  to  inter- 
fere with  me  in  any  way." 

"  And  I,  Lieutenant  Herrara,  have  been  ordered  by  the 
colonel  of  my  regiment  to  command  the  escort  of  Portuguese 


AN   AWKWARD   POSITION  231 

cavalry  told  off  to  accompany  this  British  officer,  and  also  feel 
myself  free  from  any  interference  or  examination  by  civil- 
ians." 

"  I  am  a  colonel  !  "  Cortingos  said,  angrily. 

"  By  whom  appointed,  if  I  may  ask  ?  " 

"  By  the  Junta  of  Oporto." 

"  I  was  not  aware  that  they  possessed  the  right  of  granting 
high  commissions,"  Her rara  said,  "  although,  of  course,  they 
can  grant  temporary  rank  to  those  who  command  irregular 
forces.  This  British  officer  has  assured  you  as  to  the  object 
of  his  journey,  and  unless  that  object  has  had  the  approval  of 
the  military  authorities  at  Lisbon  he  would  not  have  been 
furnished  with  an  escort  by  them." 

"  I  have  only  his  word  and  yours  as  to  that,"  Cortingos 
said,  insolently.  "  I  am  acting  under  the  orders  of  the  supreme 
authority  of  this  province." 

"  You  are  doing  your  duty,  no  doubt,"  the  lieutenant  said, 
"  in  making  these  inquiries.  This  officer  has  answered  them, 
and  I  will  answer  any  further  questions  if  I  consider  them  to 
be  reasonable." 

"  We  wish,  in  the  first  place,"  Cortingos  said,  "  to  examine 
any  official  passes  you  may  have  received." 

"  Our  official  passes  are  our  uniforms,"  Herrara  replied, 
haughtily. 

"  Uniforms  have  been  useful  for  purposes  of  disguise  before 
now,"  Cortingos  replied.  "  I  again  ask  you  to  show  me  your 
authority." 

"Here  is  an  authority,"  Terence  broke  in.  "  Here  is  a 
despatch  from  General  Sir  John  Cradock  to  General  Romana." 

"Ah,  ah,  a  Spaniard." 

"  A  Spanish  general,  a  marquis  and  grandee  of  Spain,  who 
has  been  fighting  the  French,  and  who  is  now  with  a  portion 
of  his  army  preparing  to  defend  the  passes  into  Portugal." 


232  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

Cortingos  held  out  his  hand  for  the  paper,  but  Terence  put 
it  back  again  into  the  breast-pocket  of  his  uniform. 

"  No,  sir,"  he  said  ;  "  this  communication  is  for  the  Mar- 
quis of  Romana,  and  for  him  only.  No  one  else  touches  it  so 
long  as  I  am  alive  to  defend  it. ' ' 

The  colonel  whispered  to  his  two  associates. 

"  We  will  let  that  pass  for  the  present,"  he  replied,  an<£ 
turning  to  Terence  again,  said,  "In  the  next  place  we  wish 
to  know  the  nature  of  the  contents  of  the  sacks  that  are  being 
carried  by  the  mules  that  accompany  you." 

"They  contain  ammunition,  and  forage  for  our  horses," 
Lieutenant  Herrara  said.  "  You  can,  if  you  choose,  question 
the  muleteers,  who  fastened  up  the  sacks  and  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  ammunition." 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Junta  I  demand  that  ammunition  !  " 
Cortingos  said,  with  an  air  of  authority.  "It  is  monstrous 
that  ammunition  should  be  taken  to  Spaniards,  who  have  al- 
ready shown  that  they  are  incapable  of  using  it  with  any  effect, 
while  here  we  have  loyal  men  ready  to  die  in  their  country's 
defence,  but  altogether  unprovided  with  ammunition." 

"  For  that,  sir,  you  must  apply  to  your  Junta.  Since  they 
give  you  orders,  let  them  give  you  ammunition ;  there  is 
enough  in  Oporto  to  supply  the  whole  population,  had  they 
arms ;  and  you  may  be  assured  that  I  and  my  men  will  see 
that  the  convoy  intrusted  to  our  charge  reaches  its  destination. " 

"I  believe  that  there  is  not  only  ammunition,  but  money 
in  those  sacks,"  said  Cortingos.  "It  would  bean  act  of 
treachery  to  allow  it  to  pass,  when,  even  if  not  taken  to  them 
directly,  it  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  French.  It  is 
needed  here  ;  my  men  lack  shoes  and  clothes,  and  as  you  say 
the  object  of  your  mission  is  to  see  to  the  defence  of  our 
frontier,  any  money  you  may  have  cannot  be  better  applied 
than  to  satisfy  the  necessities  of  my  soldiers.  However,  we  do 


IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  JUNTA,  I  DEMAND  THAT  AMMUNITION,* 
SAID  CORTINGOS. 


AN   AWKWARD   POSITION  233 

not  wish  to  take  steps  that  might  appear  unfriendly.  And, 
therefore,  if  you  will  allow  us  to  inspect  the  contents  of  those 
sacks,  we  will  let  you  pass  on  if  we  find  that  they  contain  no 
money — confiscating  only  the  ammunition  for  the  use  of  the 
troops  of  the  province." 

"  I  refuse  absolutely,"  Herrara  said,  "to  allow  anything 
confided  to  my  charge  to  be  touched." 

"  That  is  your  final  decision,"  the  man  said,  with  a  sneer. 

"  Final  and  absolute." 

"I  also  shall  do  my  duty ;"  and  then,  without  another 
word,  the  colonel  with  his  two  associates  left  the  house. 

"  We  shall  have  trouble  with  that  fellow,"  Herrara  said. 

"So  much  the  better,"  Terence  replied.  "We  have 
evidence  here  that  the  scoundrel  is  a  murderer.  No  doubt  he 
had  some  private  enmity  against  the  owner  of  this  establish- 
ment, and  so  denounced  him  to  the  Junta,  and  then  attacked 
the  place,  murdered  him,  and  perhaps  some  of  his  servants, 
and  sacked  the  house.  They  won't  find  it  so  easy  a  job  as  it 
was  last  time ;  all  the  windows  are  barred,  and  there  are  only 
three  on  this  floor  to  defend.  The  shutters  of  two  of  them  are 
uninjured,  so  it  is  only  the  one  where  they  broke  in  before 
that  they  can  attack,  while  our  men  at  the  windows  upstairs 
will  make  it  hot  for  them  as  they  approach.  But  I  should 
hardly  think  that  the  men  he  calls  soldiers  will  venture  to  at- 
tack a  party  of  regular  troops. ' ' 

The  lieutenant  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  He  will  tell  them  some  lies,  probably  assert  that  we  are 
French  agents  in  disguise  taking  money  to  the  French  army. 
Indeed,  there  is  neither  order  nor  discipline  among  these 
bands,  and,  roused  to  a  pitch  of  fury,  they  would  murder  their 
own  leaders  as  readily  as  anyone  else.  The  Junta  acts  as  if  the 
province  were  altogether  independent,  and  numbers  of  men  of 
position  have  been  butchered  on  the  pretence  of  their  being 


234  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

adherents  of  the  French,  when  their  sole  crime  was  that  they 
disapproved  of  the  doings  of  the  bishop  and  his  tools.  You 
will  see  that  the  night  will  not  pass  off  without  something 
happening.  Of  course,  1  shall  be  sorry  to  have  to  order  the 
men  to  fire.  In  the  first  place  it  would  render  it  very  difficult 
for  us  to  resume  our  journey  ;  and  in  the  second,  if  we  suc- 
ceed in  getting  out  alive,  they  will  send  a  lying  account  of  the 
affair  to  Lisbon,  and  there  will  be  all  sorts  of  trouble.  Still, 
of  course,  if  they  attack  the  house  we  shall  defend  ourselves." 

The  two  officers  then  made  a  tour  of  the  house  and  care- 
fully examined  the  means  of  defence.  The  broken  shutters 
were  replaced  in  their  position  in  the  window,  and  were 
backed  with  a  pile  of  the  fragments  of  furniture.  The  horses 
were  all  brought  in  from  the  shed  outside,  the  soldiers  were 
warned  that  the  mob  in  the  place  were  likely  to  attack  them, 
and  four  of  them  were  placed  as  sentries  at  the  upper  win- 
dows; and,  by  the  looks  of  the  men  when  the  lieutenant  made 
the  communication  to  them,  Terence  saw  that  they  could  be 
relied  upon. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that  we  shall  be  able  to  defend  the  place 
successfully,"  Terence  said  to  the  two  British  troopers  ;  "  but 
if  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst  we  will  all  mount  inside  the 
house,  throw  open  the  door  behind,  and  then  go  right  at 
them.  But  I  hope  that  we  shall  avoid  a  fight,  for  if  we  have 
one,  it  will  be  very  difficult  for  us  to  make  our  way  to  the 
north,  or  to  get  back  across  the  Douro." 

In  an  hour  one  of  the  sentries  at  the  upper  window  brought 
news  that  a  large  number  of  men  were  approaching.  Terence 
at  once  gave  some  orders  that  he  and  the  lieutenant  had 
agreed  upon  to  the  two  soldiers,  and  four  of  the  Portuguese 
troopers,  and  then  went  up  with  the  lieutenant  to  the  win- 
dow over  the  door.  He  threw  it  open  just  as  a  crowd  of  men 
poured  into  the  garden  in  front. 


AN    AWKWARD    POSITION 

"  What  is  it  ?"  he  asked.     "  What  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  I  demand  entrance  to  this  house  in  the  name  of  the  Junta 
of  Oporto,"  a  voice  which  he  recognized  as  that  of  Cortingos 
replied.  "  If  that  is  refused  I  shall  denounce  you  as  traitors 
to  Portugal,  and  your  blood  will  be  on  your  own  heads." 

"We  respect  the  orders  of  the  Junta,"  Herrara  replied, 
"  and  are  ready  to  open  the  door  as  you  demand ;  but  I 
must  first  be  assured  that  it  is  really  the  committee  appointed 
by  the  Junta  that  demand  it." 

Several  of  the  men  had  torches,  and  these  were  brought 
forward,  and  they  saw  the  man  and  his  two  associates  stand- 
ing in  front. 

"  Good,  I  will  open  the  door,"  the  lieutenant  said,  and  he 
and  Terence  went  down.  The  bars  were  removed  and  the 
door  thrown  open,  the  two  officers  walked  a  few  paces  outside, 
and  then  halted. 

Followed  closely  by  their  armed  followers,  the  three  men 
approached,  confident  in  the  strength  of  their  following. 

"Enter,  gentlemen,"  Terence  said.  "I  protest  against 
this  invasion,  by  force,  but  I  cannot  oppose  it." 

The  three  men  entered  the  door,  the  two  officers  standing 
aside  and  allowing  them  to  pass.  The  instant  the  three  Por- 
tuguese had  entered  Terence  and  the  lieutenant  threw  them- 
selves suddenly  upon  those  following  them.  Two  or  three 
rolled  over  with  the  suddenness  of  the  assault,  and  the  rest 
recoiled  a  step  or  two.  Before  they  could  recover  themselves 
Herrara  and  Terence  dashed  through  the  door,  which  was 
slammed  to  and  barred  by  the  two  English  troopers.  Mean- 
while, the  three  men  had  been  seized  by  the  Portuguese 
troopers,  their  coats  torn  off  them,  and  their  hands  tied 
behind  their  backs,  and  then  they  were  hurried  upstairs. 

Yells  of  fury  filled  the  air  outside,  shots  were  fired  at  the 
windows,  and  men  began  to  beat  the  door  and  shutters  with 


236  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

bludgeons  and  hatchets.  Suddenly  a  light  appeared  from  a 
window  above,  and  Cortingos  and  his  two  friends  were  seen 
standing  there.  By  the  side  of  each  stood  a  trooper,  holding 
a  rope  with  a  noose  round  the  prisoners'  necks.  For  a  moment 
there  was  a  silence  of  stupefaction  outside,  followed  by  a  yell 
of  fury  from  the  mob.  Herrara  went  to  the  window  and 
shouted:  "My  friends."  Again  there  was  a  moment  of 
silence,  as  each  wanted  to  hear  what  he  said.  "  My  friends, 
at  the  first  shot  that  is  fired,  or  the  first  blow  that  is  struck 
at  the  doors  of  this  house,  these  three  men  will  be  hung  out 
of  the  window.  They  have  deceived  you  grossly.  I  am  an 
officer  of  the  National  Army,  these  troopers  are  men  of  the 
2d  Portuguese  Dragoons.  We  have  been  appointed  by  the 
military  authorities  of  Lisbon  to  escort  this  British  officer, 
who  is  on  the  staff  of  the  British  general,  and  whose  commis- 
sion is  to  make  arrangements  with  the  Spanish  general, 
Romana  to  harass  the  rear  of  the  French,  and  attack  their 
convoys  should  they  attempt  to  enter  the  northern  passes. 

"  These  three  scoundrels  have  deceived  you,  in  order,  as 
they  hoped,  to  obtain  some  money  that  they  believed  us  to  be 
escorting.  As  loyal  Portuguese,  I  warn  you  against  attempt- 
ing to  aid  the  fellows  in  a  deed  which  would  bring  disgrace 
upon  the  national  name,  and  would  result  in  the  British 
general  refusing  to  assist  in  the  defence  of  your  country. 
You  are  brave  men,  but  you  see  these  three  cowards  are 
trembling  like  children.  We  advise  you  to  appoint  fresh 
officers  among  yourselves,  and  to  remain  faithful  to  your  duty, 
which  is  to  march  when  ordered  to  the  defence  of  the  defiles. 
These  three  fellows  we  shall  take  with  us,  and  will  see  that 
they  do  not  further  deceive  you.  Already  they  have  done 
harm  enough  by  goading  you  to  theft,  and  to  murder  a  man 
whose  only  fault  was  that  he  was  more  patriotic  than  they  are. 
Be  assured  that  in  no  case  would  you  be  able  to  carry  this 


AN   AWKWARD    POSITION  237 

house.  It  is  defended  by  sixteen  well-armed  men,  and 
hundreds  of  you  would  throw  away  your  lives  in  the  attempt. 
Therefore,  I  advise  you  to  go  back  to  your  quarters,  and  in 
the  morning  assemble  and  choose  your  officers. ' ' 

The  crowd  stood  irresolute. 

"  Tell  them  to  go,  you  cur,"  Herrara  said  to  Cortingos, 
standing  back  from  the  window  and  giving  him  a  kick  that 
almost  sent  him  on  his  face.  "  Tell  them  to  disperse  at 
once,  if  you  don't  want  to  be  dangling  from  the  end  of 
this  rope." 

Cortingos  stepped  forward,  and  in  a  quavering  voice  told 
the  men  to  disperse  to  their  quarters, 

"We  have  made  a  mistake,"  he  said.  "I  am  now  con- 
vinced that  these  officers  are  what  they  appear  to  be.  I 
beseech  you  do  not  cause  trouble,  and  disperse  at  once 
quietly. ' ' 

Hoots  of  derision  and  scorn  rose  from  the  peasants. 

"  I  have  a  good  mind  to  fire  a  shot  before  I  go,"  one  of 
the  peasants  shouted,  "just  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  three 
such  cowards  hung." 

Another  yell  of  disgust  and  anger  arose,  and  then  the  crowd 
melted  away. 

"  Keep  these  three  fellows  at  the  window.  Remove  the 
ropes  from  their  necks,  and  take  your  place  behind  them ; 
you  will  be  relieved  every  hour.  If  they  move,  bayonet 
them  at  once." 

"  We  shall  die  of  cold,"  one  of  the  men  whimpered. 

"That  would  be  a  more  honourable  death  than  you  are 
likely  to  meet,"  Terence  said,  scornfully.  "  I  fancy  if  I  don't 
hang  you,  those  men  in  the  village  will  do  so  if  they  can  lay 
hands  on  you." 

"  How  about  the  sentries,  sir  ?  "  the  corporal  of  the  escort 
asked  Herrara  as  they  went  downstairs. 


238  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"  They  can  all  be  removed  except  the  one  keeping  guard 
over  these  men — he  is  to  be  relieved  every  hour — and  one 
inside  the  door,  he  can  be  relieved  every  two  hours." 

The  night  passed  quietly.  Just  as  they  were  preparing  to 
start  next  morning,  the  soldier  on  guard  over  the  prisoners 
shouted,  ' '  There  is  a  crowd  of  men  coming  !  ' ' 

"  Get  your  arms  ready,"  Herrara  said  to  the  escort;  "  but 
I  don't  think  there  will  be  any  occasion  to  use  them." 

Terence  went  to  the  door.  "Bull,  do  you  and  Macwitty 
keep  close  behind;  but  whatever  happens  don't  use  your 
weapons,  unless  I  order  you  to  do  so." 

The  crowd  stopped  at  the  gate,  two  of  them  only  coming 
forward. 

"We  are  ready  to  fight,  sir,*'  one  said,  addressing  Ter- 
ence, "  but  we  have  no  officers;  none  of  us  know  anything 
about  drill.  We  will  follow  you,  if  you  will  command  us, 
and  you  will  find  that  we  won't  turn  our  backs  to  the  enemy. 
We  know  that  English  officers  will  fight." 

"Wait  a  minute  or  two,"  Terence  said,  after  a  moment's 
hesitation,  "I  will  then  give  you  my  answer." 

Herrara  had  followed  him  out  and  heard  the  offer. 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  do,  Herrara,"  Terence  said,  as  he 
re-entered  the  house.  "  My  instructions  are  to  join  Romana, 
and  to  remain  with  him  for  a  time,  sending  word  to  Lisbon 
as  to  the  state  of  things,  and  aiding  him  in  any  way  in  my 
power.  Here  are  between  two  and  three  thousand  stout, 
healthy  fellows,  evidently  disposed  to  fight.  If  they  were 
armed  I  would  not  hesitate  a  moment,  but  I  don't  suppose 
that  there  are  a  hundred  muskets  among  them,  and  certainly 
Romana  has  none  to  give  them.  Still,  in  the  defiles  we  might 
give  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  the  French  by  rolling  stones 
down,  breaking  up  bridges,  and  that  sort  of  thing." 

"  It  would  be  good  fun,"  Herrara  laughed.     "As  for  my- 


AN   AWKWARD   POSITION  239 

self,"  he  said,  "I  have  orders  to  return  as  soon  as  I  have  seen 
the  treasure  safely  in  Romana's  camp.  If  it  hadn't  been  for 
that  I  should  have  liked  nothing  better,  though  there  would 
not  have  been  much  chance  for  cavalry  work  in  these  de- 
files." 

"  I  will  talk  to  them  again,"  Terence  said.  "  It  is  not 
often  that  one  gets  the  chance  of  an  independent  command. 
It  is  just  the  sort  of  work  I  should  like." 

He  went  out  again.  "I  should  like  to  command  a  num- 
ber of  brave  fellows,"  he  said,  "but  the  question  is  about 
arms.  There  have  been  any  quantity  sent  out  by  England 
for  your  use;  but  instead  of  being  served  out,  the  Juntas 
keep  them  all  hidden  up  in  magazines.  Even  now,  when 
the  French  are  going  to  invade  your  country,  they  still  keep 
them  locked  up,  and  send  you  out  with  only  pikes  and 
staves  to  fight  against  a  well-armed  army.  It  is  nothing  short 
of  murder." 

"  Down  with  the  Juntas  !  "  cried  half  a  dozen  of  the  men 
standing  near  enough  to  hear  what  was  said. 

"  I  don't  say  '  Down  with  the  Juntas  !  '  "  Terence  replied  ; 
"  but  I  do  say  take  arms  if  you  can  get  them.  Are  there 
any  magazines  near  here  ?  ' ' 

"  There  is  one  at  Castro,  ten  miles  away,"  the  man  said. 
"I  know  that  there  are  waggon-loads  of  arms  there." 

"  Well,  my  friends,  the  matter  stands  thus  :  I,  as  a  British 
officer,  cannot  lead  you  to  break  open  magazines ;  but  I  say 
this,  if  you  choose  to  go  in  a  body  to  Castro  and  do  it  your- 
selves, and  arm  yourselves  with  all  the  muskets  that  you  can 
find  there,  and  bring  with  you  a  good  store  of  ammunition 
in  carts  that  you  could  take  with  you  from  here,  and  then 
come  to  me  at  a  spot  where  I  will  halt  to-night  five  or  six 
miles  beyond  Castro,  I  will  take  command  of  you.  But 
mind,  if  I  command,  I  command.  I  must  have,  absolute 


240  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

obedience.  It  is  only  by  obeying  my  orders  without  question 
that  you  can  hope  to  do  any  good.  The  first  man  who  dis- 
obeys me  I  shall  shoot  on  the  spot,  and  if  others  are  disposed 
to  support  him  I  shall  leave  you  at  once. ' ' 

"  I  will  consult  the  others,"  the  man  said.  "  Many  of  us, 
I  know,  will  be  glad  to  fight  under  an  English  officer,  and 
agree  to  obey  him  implicitly." 

"  Very  well,  I  will  give  you  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  de- 
cide." 

Before  that  time  had  elapsed  a  dozen  men  came  to  the  door 
with  the  principal  spokesman. 

"We  have  made  up  our  minds,  seiior.  We  will  follow 
you,  and  we  will  arm  ourselves  at  Castro.  It  is  a  sin  that  the 
arms  should  be  lying  there  idle  with  so  many  hands  ready  to 
§use  them." 

"  That  is  good,"  Terence  said.  "  Now,  my  first  order  is 
that  you  wait  until  I  have  been  gone  an  hour;  then,  that  you 
form  up  in  military  order,  four  abreast ;  the  men  with  guns 
in  front,  the  others  after  them.  You  must  go  as  soldiers,  and 
not  as  a  mob.  You  must  march  into  Castro  peacefully  and 
quietly,  not  a  man  must  straggle  from  the  ranks.  You  must 
go  to  the  authorities  and  demand  the  arms  and  ammunition  ; 
if  they  refuse  to  give  them  to  you,  march — always  in  regular 
order — to  the  magazine  and  burst  it  open;  then  distribute 
the  muskets  and  a  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition  to  each 
man  having  one,  take  the  rest  of  the  stores  in  carts,  and  then 
march  away  along  the  road  north  until  you  come  to  the 
place  where  we  are  halted. 

"  Observe  the  most  perfect  order  in  Castro.  If  any  man 
plunders  or  meddles  in  any  way  with  the  inhabitants  and  is 
reported  to  me,  I  shall  know  how  to  punish  him.  From  the 
moment  that  you  leave  this  place  remember  that  you  are 
soldiers  of  Portugal,  and  you  must  behave  so  as  to  be  an 


AN    INDEPENDENT   COMMAND  241 

t 

honour  to  it  as  well  as  a  defence.     Now  let  us  all  shout  *  Viva 
Portugal!'" 

A  great  shout  followed  the  words,  and  then  Terence  went 
indoors,  and  five  minutes  later  started  with  his  convoy,  telling 
the  three  prisoners  they  could  go  where  they  liked. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AN   INDEPENDENT  COMMAND 

AS  they  left  the  village  the  Portuguese  lieutenant  burst  into 
a  sudden  fit  of  laughter. 

"  What  is  it,  Lieutenant?  "  Terence  asked. 

"  I  am  laughing  at  the  way  in  which  you — who,  as  you 
tell  me,  have  only  been  six  months  in  the  army — without 
hesitation  organize  what  is  really  a  rising  against  the  authori- 
ties, you  having  already  taken  representatives  of  the  Junta 
prisoners ' ' 

"  Yes;  but  you  must  remember  that  they  took  upon  them- 
selves to  endeavour  to  forcibly  possess  themselves  of  the  treas- 
ure in  my  charge." 

"That  is  true  enough;  still,  you  did  capture  them.  You 
treated  them  with  considerable  personal  indignity,  imprisoned 
them,  and  threatened  their  lives.  Then  you  incite,  say  2,500 
ordenancas  to  break  open  magazines." 

"  No,  no,  Lieutenant,  I  did  not  incite  them.  You  will  re- 
member they  expressed  a  desire  to  march  under  my  command 
to  fight  against  the  French.  I  simply  pointed  out  to  them 
that  they  had  no  arms,  and  asked  if  they  could  get  any ;  and 
hearing  that  there  were  plenty  lying  useless  a  few  miles  away, 
suggested  that  those  arms  would  do  more  good  in  their  hands 
than  stowed  away  in  magazines.  Upon  their  agreeing  with 
16 


242  WITH    MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

me  on  this  head,  I  advised  them  to  proceed  in  a  quiet  and 
orderly  way,  and  to  have  no  rioting  or  disturbance  of  any  sort. 
I  said  that  if  they,  after  arming  themselves,  came  to  me  and 
still  wished  to  follow  me,  I  would  undertake  to  command  them. 
You  see,  everything  depends  upon  the  manner  in  which  the 
thing  is  put." 

"  But  you  must  remember,  senor,  that  the  Junta  will  natu- 
rally view  the  matter  in  the  light  in  which  their  representatives 
will  place  it  before  them." 

"I  think  it  unlikely,"  Terence  replied,  " that  they  will 
have  any  opportunity  of  doing  so.  I  took  care  that  they 
were  removed  from  the  window  before  I  met  the  deputies  of 
the  men.  They  will  consequently  be  unaware  of  the  arrange- 
ments made,  and  will,  perhaps,  go  out  as  soon  as  we  have 
left  and  try  to  persuade  the  men  to  follow  and  attack  us.  As 
it  was  possible  that  they  might  take  this  course,  I  took  the 
precaution  of  sending  out  one  of  the  muleteers,  with  instruc- 
tions to  mention  casually  to  the  men  that  I  was  leaving  the 
three  fellows  behind  me,  and  that  it  might  be  as  well  for  them 
to  confine  them  under  a  guard  so  as  to  prevent  their  going  to 
Oporto  at  present  and  making  mischief. ' ' 

"  I  agree  with  you,  sen"  or,  that  they  are  certainly  not  likely 
to  make  any  report  as  to  the  proceedings  here." 

"I  fancy  not;  in  fact  I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised  if 
at  the  present  moment  they  are  hanging  from  the  windows 
of  the  house  of  the  man  they  caused  to  be  murdered.  They 
will  most  richly  deserve  their  fate,  and  it  may  save  us  some 
trouble.  No  doubt  the  Junta  will  hear  some  day  that  the 
ordenancas  here  rose,  killed  the  three  members  of  their  com- 
mittee, obtained  arms  at  Castro,  and  marched  into  the  moun- 
tains. The  Junta  will  care  nothing  whatever  for  the  killing  of 
its  three  agents  ;  plenty  of  men  of  the  same  kind  can  be  found 
to  do  their  work.  That  the  mutineers  afterwards  fell  in  with 


AN    INDEPENDENT   COMMAND  243 

a  British  officer,  and  placed  themselves  under  his  command, 
will  not  concern  the  Junta  one  way  or  the  other,  and  they 
will  certainly  be  a  great  deal  more  useful  in  that  way  than 
they  would  be  in  remaining  unarmed  here. 

"  They  may  even,  when  the  French  once  get  in  motion, 
come  to  regard  the  affair  altogether  as  satisfactory.  If  all  the 
new  levies  were  to  act  in  exactly  the  same  way,  Portugal 
would  be  very  materially  benefited." 

"  But  how  are  you  going  to  feed  them  ?  " 

"  That  is  rather  a  serious  question.  I  suppose  they  will 
have  to  be  fed  in  the  same  way  as  other  irregular  bands. 
However,  I  shall  consider  myself  fully  justified  in  devoting  a 
fifth  of  the  money  I  am  carrying  to  that  purpose.  I  obtained 
from  Villiers  ,£5,000  to  enable  Romana  to  support  the  levies 
he  is  raising.  Those  levies  will  be  for  the  most  part  unarmed, 
and  therefore  practically  useless  ;  and  as  these  Portuguese  will 
be  at  any  rate  fairly  armed,  and  are  likely  to  be  of  very  much 
greater  service  than  a  horde  of  Galician  peasants,  a  portion  at 
least  of  the  money  can  be  very  much  more  usefully  employed 
in  feeding  them  than  were  it  all  given  to  Romana.  I  have  no 
doubt  whatever  that  when  I  explain  the  circumstances  to  Gen- 
eral Cradock,  he  will  entirely  approve  of  my  appropriating  a 
small  portion  of  the  money  that  Villiers  has  chosen  to  throw 
away  on  Romana.  When  you  return  I  shall  get  you  to  carry 
a  report  from  me  to  the  general,  stating  what  I  have  done.  I 
have  no  doubt  he  will  warmly  approve  of  it." 

On  approaching  Castro  they  made  a  detour  to  avoid  the 
town. 

"  There  may  be  more  representatives  of  the  Junta  there," 
Terence  said,  "  and  we  may  have  even  more  trouble  with 
them  than  we  had  with  the  last.  I  don't  want  any  more 
bother,  especially  as  I  have  much  greater  interest  in  the  money 
now  than  I  had  before.  I  have  not  a  shadow  of  belief  in  those 


244  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNtfA 

bands  of  Portuguese  peasants,  but  I  do  think  that,  with  the 
aid  of  my  two  troopers,  I  shall  be  able  to  lick  these  fellows 
into  some  sort  of  shape,  and  to  annoy  Soult,  if  I  cannot  stop 
him.  I  hope  they  will  find  a  good  supply  of  powder,  besides 
the  muskets  and  ammunition  at  Castro  ;  we  shall  want  it  for 
blowing  up  bridges  and  work  of  that  sort. ' ' 

"I  wish  I  could  go  with  you,"  Herrara  said. 

"  I  really  don't  see  why  you  should  not.  I  would  take 
the  blame  on  my  own  shoulders.  One  of  your  troopers  could 
carry  my  report  to  the  general,  and  I  will  say  that  under  the 
circumstances  I  have  taken  upon  myself  to  retain  you  with  me 
in  order  to  assist  me  in  drilling  and  organizing  this  band,  con- 
ceiving that  your  services  with  me  would  be  very  much  more 
useful  than  with  your  regiment.  You  see,  you  were  placed 
under  my  orders,  so  that  no  blame  can  fall  upon  you  for  obey- 
ing them,  and  at  any  rate  you  certainly  will  be  doing  vastly 
better  service  to  the  country  than  if  you  were  stationed  at  Lis- 
bon, with  no  prospect  of  an  advance  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Still,  of  course,  I  will  not  retain  you  against  your  will." 

"  I  should  like  it  of  all  things,"  Herrara  said ;  "  but  do  you 
really  think  that  the  general  would  approve?  " 

"  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  he  would,  and  at  any  rate 
if  he  did  not  he  would  only  blame  me,  and  not  you.  Your 
help  would  certainly  be  invaluable  to  me,  and  so  would  that 
of  your  men.  They  are  all  picked  soldiers,  and  if  we  divided 
the  force  up  into  twelve  companies,  they  would  very  soon 
teach  them  as  much  drill  as  is  necessary  for  work  like  this. 
Each  trooper  would  command  one  of  the  companies,  my  two 
orderlies  would  act  as  field  officers ;  you  would  be  colonel, 
and  I  should  be  political  officer  in  command." 

Herrara  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter. 

"  You  are  the  strangest  fellow  I  ever  met,  senor.  Here  is 
a  very  serious  business,  and  you  take  it  as  easily  as  if  it  were 


AN   INDEPENDENT   COMMAND  £45 

a  game  of  play.  However,  it  does  seem  to  me  that  we  might 
do  some  good  service.  At  any  rate  I  am  quite  willing  to  obey 
your  orders.  It  would  be  an  adventure  to  talk  of  all  one's 
life." 

"  That  is  right,11  Terence  said  ;  "  and  there  will  be  some 
credit  to  be  gained,  too.  Indeed,  we  can  safely  say  that  our 
band  will  be  very  much  better  organized  than  nineteen  out  of 
twenty  of  the  irregular  bands." 

The  track  they  followed  was  a  very  bad  one,  and  the  point 
at  which  they  regained  the  main  road  was  eight  miles  north  of 
Castro.  There  was  a  small  village  here,  and  they  at  once 
halted.  Although  they  had  travelled  slowly  they  knew  that 
the  men  could  not  come  along  for  some  time,  as  they  were 
not  to  start  until  an  hour  after  them,  and  would  be  detained 
for  some  considerable  time  at  Castro.  It  was  indeed  nearly 
three  hours  before  a  column  marching  in  good  order  was  seen 
coming  along  the  road. 

"  That  is  a  good  sign,"  Terence  said ;  "  they  have  obeyed 
orders  strictly  ;  whether  they  have  got  the  arms  I  cannot  tell 
yet.  The  men  at  the  head  of  the  column  have  certainly  mus- 
kets, but  as  the  armed  men  were  to  go  in  front  that  is  no 
proof." 

However,  as  the  column  approached,  it  could  be  seen  that 
at  any  rate  a  very  considerable  number  were  armed. 

"  We  had  better  form  them  up  as  they  come,  Herrara.  If 
the  head  of  the  column  stops  it  will  stop  them  all,  and  then 
there  will  be  confusion." 

The  road  through  the  village  was  wide.  When  a  hundred 
ranks  had  passed  they  were  halted,  faced  round,  and  marched 
forward,  and  so  they  continued  until  the  village  was  filled  with 
a  dense  mass  of  men,  twenty  deep.  Terence  observed  with 
satisfaction  that  they  had  with  them  six  bullock  carts  filled  with 
ammunition-cases,  spare  muskets,  and  powder-barrels.  The 


246  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

men  who  had  first  spoken  to  Terence  had  headed  the  column, 
and  these  had  stopped  by  his  side  as  the  others  marched  in. 

"  You  have  succeeded,  I  see,"  he  said.  "  I  hope  that  you 
were  enabled  to  accomplish  it  without  violence." 

"  They  were  too  much  surprised  to  offer  much  resistance. 
Five  fellows,  who  said  they  were  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  Junta,  came  to  us  and  told  us  that  unless  we  dispersed  at 
once  we  should  be  severely  punished.  We  told  them  that  we 
had  come  out  of  our  homes  at  the  orders  of  the  Junta,  but 
that  as  the  Junta  had  not  supplied  us  with  arms  we  had  come 
for  them,  as  we  were  not  going  to  fight  the  French  with 
nothing  but  sticks.  They  then  threatened  us  again,  and  we 
told  them  that  if  they  hindered  us  from  defending  the  country 
we  should  hang  them  at  once  ;  and  as  they  saw  we  meant  it, 
they  went  quietly  off  to  their  houses.  Then  we  broke  down 
the  door  of  the  magazine.  We  found  four  thousand  muskets 
there.  Each  man  took  one,  and  we  left  the  remainder  and 
enough  ammunition  for  them,  and  have  brought  the  rest  here, 
together  with  a  hundred  spare  muskets. 

"  We  have  observed  excellent  order,  and  no  one  was  hurt 
or  alarmed.  The  only  men  who  left  the  ranks  were  a  score 
who  went  round  to  the  bakers'  shops  by  my  orders,  and 
bought  up  all  the  bread  in  the  place.  We  found  a  bag  with  a 
thousand  dollars  at  the  quarters  of  Cortingos." 

"  What  became  of  him  and  his  two  associates  ?  " 

"  They  had  the  impudence  to  come  out  and  harangue  us 
when  you  had  gone ;  but  we  tied  them  up  to  the  branch  of  a 
tree,  so  there  is  an  end  of  them." 

"And  a  very  fitting  end,  too,"  Terence  said.  "What 
have  you  done  with  the  money  ?  " 

"  The  bag  is  in  that  cart,  sefior." 

"  You  had  better  appoint  four  of  your  number  as  treasurers. 
I  would  rather  not  touch  it.  You  must  be  as  careful  as  you 


AN   INDEPENDENT   COMMAND  247 

can,  and  spend  it  only  on  the  barest  necessaries  of  life.  We 
shall  have  few  opportunities  of  buying  things  in  the  mountains, 
but  when  we  do  come  upon  them  they  must  be  paid  for.  Of 
course,  we  shall  go  no  farther  to-night.  How  many  men  have 
you?" 

"  About  two  thousand  five  hundred,  sefior." 

"  They  must  be  told  off  into  twelve  companies.  That  will 
be  two  hundred  and  ten  to  each  company.  I  shall  appoint 
one  of  these  soldiers  to  each  company  to  drill  and  command  it. 
I  propose  that  each  company  shall  elect  its  other  officers. 
Lieutenant  Herrara  will,  under  my  orders,  command  the  regi- 
ment. The  two  English  soldiers  with  me  will  each  take  com- 
mand of  six  companies.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  tell 
off  the  men  into  companies." 

"  This  we  will  at  once  do.  After  that  they  can  be  marched 
just  outside  the  village,  and  each  company  will  then  fall  out 
and  elect  its  officers.  When  that  is  done  the  men  will  be 
quartered  in  the  village.  I  have  set  apart  one  room  in  each 
house  for  the  inhabitants,  and  the  men  must  pack  as  tightly 
as  they  can  into  the  others ;  and  of  course  the  sheds  and 
stables  must  also  be  utilized." 

With  the  assistance  of  the  troopers  the  work  of  dividing 
the  force  up  into  companies  was  accomplished  in  an  hour. 
Herrara  then  called  his  men  to  him. 

"  You  will  each  take  the  command  of  a  company,"  he  said, 
"  and  drill  them  and  teach  them  the  use  of  their  arms.  This 
force  is  now  under  the  command  of  this  British  officer.  Act- 
ing under  his  orders,  I  take  the  command  of  the  force  under 
him.  So  long  as  we  are  out  you  will  each  act  as  captains  of 
your  companies,  and  your  British  comrades  will  act  as  field 
officers,  each  taking  the  command  of  six  companies.  We  are 
going  to  hinder  the  advance  of  the  French,  and  to  cut  their 
communications  with  Spain.  It  will  be  a  glorious  and  most 


248  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

honourable  duty,  and  I  rely  most  implicitly  on  your  doing 
your  best  to  make  the  men  under  your  command  fit  to  meet 
the  enemy.  Captain  Juan  Sanches,  you  will  take  the  first 
company ;  ' '  and  so  he  allotted  to  each  his  command. 

The  soldiers  saluted  gravely,  but  with  an  air  of  delight. 

1 '  You  will,  in  the  first  place,  march  your  men  to  various 
spots  around  the  village  ;  they  will  then  fall  out  and  select  six 
officers  each.  You  will  see  that  each  man  knows  the  number 
of  his  company,  so  that  they  can  fall  in  without  hesitation  as 
soon  as  the  order  is  given.  While  you  are  away  we  shall 
examine  the  houses  and  allot  so  many  to  each  company." 

In  the  meantime  Terence  had  been  similarly  instructing  the 
two  orderlies.  Although  standing  at  attention,  a  broad  grin 
of  amusement  stole  over  their  faces  as  he  went  on  : 

"  I  did  not  expect  this  any  more  than  you  did,"  he  said; 
"but  my  orders  were  open  ones,  and  were  to  assist  General 
Romana  in  hindering  the  advance  of  the  French,  and  I  think 
that  I  cannot  do  so  better  than  by  augmenting  his  forces  by 
2,500  well-armed  men.  I  rely  greatly  upon  you  to  assist  me 
in  the  work.  You  will,  as  you  see,  each  occupy  the  position  of 
field  officers,  while  the  Portuguese  troopers  will  each  have  the 
command  of  a  company.  In  order  to  support  your  authority  I 
shall  address  you  each  as  major,  and  you  can  consider  that  you 
hold  that  rank  as  long  as  we  are  out  with  this  force.  I  have 
seen  enough  of  you  both  to  know  that  you  will  do  your  duty 
well.  You  will  understand  that  this  is  going  to  be  no  child's 
play;  it  will  be  a  dangerous  service.  I  shall  spare  neither 
myself  nor  any  under  my  command.  There  will  be  lots  of 
fighting  and  opportunities  for  you  to  distinguish  yourselves, 
and  I  hope  that  I  shall  be  able  to  speak  in  high  terms  of  you 
when  I  send  in  my  report  to  General  Cradock." 

"  We  will  do  our  best,  sir,"  Andrew  Macwitty  said.  "  How 
are  we  to  address  you  ?  ' ' 


AN    INDEPENDENT    COMMAND  249 

"I  shall  keep  to  Mr.  O'Connor,  and  shall  consider  myself 
a  political  officer  with  supreme  military  authority.  Your  titles 
are  simply  for  local  purposes,  and  to  give  you  authority  among 
the  Portuguese." 

"  We  don't  know  enough  uf  the  lingo  to  give  the  words  of 
command,  sir,"  William  Bull  said. 

"  That  will  not  matter.  The  Portuguese  dragoons  will  teach 
them  as  much  drill  as  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  know.  If 
you  have  to  post  them  in  a  position  you  can  do  that  well 
enough  by  signs ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  most  desirable 
that  you  should  both  set  to  work  in  earnest  and  try  to  pick 
up  a  little  of  the  language.  You  both  know  enough  to  make 
a  start  with,  and  if  you  ride  every  day  with  one  or  other  of 
the  captains  of  companies,  and  when  they  are  drilling  the 
men  stand  by  and  listen  to  them,  you  will  soon  learn  enough 
to  give  the  men  the  necessary  orders.  As  a  rule,  the  two  wings 
will  act  as  separate  regiments  ;  each  of  them  is  rather  stronger 
than  that  of  a  line  regiment  at  its  full  war  strength,  and  it 
will  be  more  convenient  to  treat  them  as  separate  regiments, 
and,  until  we  get  to  the  frontier,  march  them  a  few  miles  apart. 

"  In  this  way  they  can  occupy  different  villages,  and  obtain 
better  accommodation  than  if  they  were  all  together.  They 
have  money  enough  to  buy  bread  and  wine  for  some  time. 
You  and  the  captains  under  you  had  better  each  form  a  sort 
of  mess.  You  will,  of  course,  draw  rations  of  bread  and  wine, 
and  I  will  provide  you  with  money  to  buy  a  sheep  occasionally 
or  some  fowls,  to  keep  you  in  meat." 

The  two  troopers  walked  gravely  away,  but  as  soon  as  they 
were  at  a  little  distance  they  turned  round  the  corner  of  a 
house  and  burst  into  a  shout  of  laughter. 

"  How  are  you  finding  yourself  to-day,  Major  Macwitty  ?  " 

"Just  first-rate;  and  how  is  yoursel',  Major  Bull?"  and 
they  again  went  off  into  another  shout  of  laughter. 


250  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"This  is  a  rum  start,  and  no  mistake,  Macwitty." 

"Ay,  but  it  is  no'  an  unpleasant  one,  I  reckon.  Mr. 
O'Connor  knows  what  he  is  about,  though  he  is  little  more 
than  a  laddie.  The  orderly  who  brought  our  orders  to  go 
with  him,  said  he  had  heard  from  one  of  the  general's  mess 
waiters  that  the  general  and  the  other  officers  were  saying  the 
young  officer  had  done  something  quite  out  of  the  way,  and 
were  paying  him  compliments  on  it,  and  the  general  had  put 
him  on  his  own  staff  in  consequence,  and  was  saying  some- 
thing about  his  having  saved  a  wing  of  his  regiment  from 
being  captured  by  the  French.  The  man  had.  not  heard  it  all ; 
but  just  scraps  as  he  went  in  and  out  of  the  room  with  wine, 
but  he  said  it  seemed  something  out  of  the  way,  and  mighty 
creditable.  And  now  what  do  you  think  of  this  affair,  Bull  ?  " 

"There  is  one  thing,  and  that  is  that  there  is  like  to  be, 
as  he  said,  plenty  of  fighting,  for  I  should  say  that  he  is  just 
the  sort  of  fellow  to  give  us  the  chance  of  it,  and  I  do  think 
that  these  Portuguese  fellows  really  mean  to  fight." 

"I  think  that  mysel',  but  there  is  no  answering  for  these 
brown -skin  chaps.  Still,  maybe  it  is  the  fault  of  the  officers 
as  well  as  the  men." 

"  It  will  be  a  rare  game  anyhow,  Macwitty.  At  any  rate  I 
will  do  my  best  to  get  the  fellows  into  order.  He  is  a  fine 
young  officer,  and  a  thorough  gentleman,  and  no  mistake.  He 
goes  about  it  all  as  if  he  had  been  accustomed  to  command 
two  regiments  all  his  life,  and  these  Portuguese  fellows  seem 
to  have  taken  to  him  wonderfully.  At  any  rate  it  will  be  a 
thing  for  us  to  talk  about  all  our  lives — how  we  were  majors 
for  a  bit,  and  fought  the  French  on  our  own  account." 

"Yes,  if  we  get  home  to  tell  about  it,"  Macwitty  said, 
cautiously.  "  I  dinna  think  we  can  reckon  much  on  that  yet. 
It  is  a  desperate  sort  of  a  business,  and  he  is  ower  young  to 
command. ' ' 


AN    INDEPENDENT   COMMAND  251 

"I  would  rather  have  a  young  officer  than  an  old  one," 
Bull  said,  carelessly;  "and  though  he  is  Irish,  I  feel  sure 
that  he  has  got  his  head  screwed  on  the  right  way.  Look  how 
well  he  managed  last  night.  Why,  an  old  general  could  not 
have  done  better.  If  he  hadn't  caught  those  three  fellows  in 
a  trap,  I  doubt  whether  we  should  have  got  out  of  the  scrape. 
Sixteen  or  seventeen  men  against  over  two  thousand  is  pretty 
long  odds.  We  should  have  accounted  for  a  lot  of  them,  but 
they  would  have  done  for  us  in  the  end." 

"  You  are  right  there,  Bull.  I  thought  mysel'  that  it  was 
an  awkward  fix,  and  certainly  he  managed  those  Portuguese 
fellows  well,  and  turned  the  lot  round  his  little  finger.  Ay, 
ay ;  he  knows  what  he  is  doing  perfectly  well,  young  as 
he  is." 

"Well,  we  had  best  be  off  to  look  after  our  commands," 
Bull  laughed.  "  I  suppose  they  will  call  mine  the  first  regi- 
ment, as  I  have  the  right  wing." 

While  the  men  were  away,  Terence  and  Herrara,  with  the 
head  man  of  the  village,  went  round  to  all  the  houses,  and 
marked  on  pieces  of  paper  the  number  of  men  who  could  man- 
age to  lie  down  on  the  floors  and  passages,  with  the  number 
of  the  company,  and  fixed  them  on  the  doors;  they  also  made  an 
arrangement  with  the  proprietor  of  a  neighbouring  vineyard  to 
supply  as  much  wine  as  was  required,  at  the  rate  of  a  pint  to 
each  man.  When  the  men  returned  four  men  were  told  off 
from  each  company  to  fetch  the  rations  of  bread,  and  another 
four  to  carry  the  wine.  They  were  accompanied  by  one  of 
the  newly  elected  sergeants  to  check  the  quantity,  and  see  that 
all  was  done  in  order.  To  prevent  confusion  the  companies 
were  kept  drawn  up  until  the  rations  had  been  distributed ; 
then  they  were  taken  into  their  quarters,  filling  every  room, 
attic  and  cellar,  barn,  granary,  and  stable  in  the  village.  Then 
Terence  and  Herrara  in  one  room,  and  the  troopers  in  another 


252  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

of  the  little  inn,  sat  down  to  a  meal  Terence  had  ordered  as 
soon  as  they  arrived. 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak  they  marched  off.  Terence 
rode  at  their  head,  Herrara  at  the  rear  of  the  regiment,  and 
each  captain  at  the  head  of  his  company.  From  time  to  time 
Terence  rode  up  and  down  the  line,  and  ordered  the  men  to 
keep  step. 

"  It  is  just  as  easy,"  he  said  to  the  captains,  "  for  the  men 
to  do  so  as  to  walk  along  anyhow,  and  they  will  find  that  the 
sound  of  all  the  footfalls  together  helps  them  to  march  stead- 
ily and  lessens  fatigue.  Never  mind  about  the  slope  of  their 
muskets ;  you  must  not  harass  them  about  little  things,  else 
they  will  get  sulky  ;  it  will  all  come  gradually." 

Four  marches  of  twenty  miles  each  took  them  over  the 
mountains  in  four  days.  The  Portuguese  marched  well,  and 
not  a  single  man  fell  out  from  the  ranks,  while  at  the  end  of 
the  day  they  were  still  fresh  enough  to  allow  of  an  hour's  drill. 
Even  in  that  short  time  there  was  a  very  appreciable  differ- 
ence in  their  appearance.  They  had  already  learned  to  keep 
their  distances  on  the  march,  to  slope  their  muskets  more 
evenly  on  their  shoulders,  and  to  carry  themselves  with  a 
more  erect  bearing.  The  first  two  drills  had  been  devoted  to 
teaching  them  how  to  load  and  aim,  the  other  two  to  changes 
of  formation,  from  column  into  line  and  back  again. 

"They  would  make  fine  soldiers,  sir,"  Bull  said,  on  the 
fourth  evening,  "  after  they  have  had  six  months'  drill." 

"No  doubt  they  would  move  more  regularly,"  Terence 
agreed,  "  but  in  mountain  warfare  that  makes  little  differ- 
ence ;  as  soon  as  they  have  learned  to  shoot  straight,  and  to 
have  confidence  in  themselves,  they  will  do  just  as  well  hold- 
ing a  defile  or  the  head  of  a  bridge  as  if  they  had  been  drilled 
for  months.  We  must  get  hold  of  some  horns  of  some  sort, 
and  they  must  learn  a  few  simple  calls,  such  as  the  advance, 


AN    INDEPENDENT   COMMAND  253 

retire,  form  square,  and  things  of  that  sort.  With  such  large 
companies  the  voice  would  never  be  heard  in  the  din  of  a 
battle.  I  hope  that  we  shall  get  at  least  a  week  to  practise 
skirmishing  over  rough  ground  and  to  fall  back  in  good  order, 
taking  advantage  of  every  rock  and  shelter,  before  we  get  un- 
der fire.  Do  you  know  anything  about  blowing  up  bridges  ?  ' ' 

"  Not  me,  sir.     That  is  engineers'  business." 

"  It  is  a  thing  that  troopers  ought  to  know  something  about 
too,  Bull ;  for  if  you  were  far  in  advance  without  an  engineer 
near  you,  you  might  do  good  service  by  blowing  up  a  bridge 
and  checking  the  advance  of  an  enemy.  However,  I  dare 
say  we  shall  soon  find  out  how  it  is  best  done.  Now,  to-mor- 
row morning  we  will  have  three  hours  of  skirmishing  work  on 
these  hillsides.  By  that  time  the  other  regiment  will  have 
come  up,  and  then  we  will  march  together  to  join  Romana." 

The  Spanish  general  was  much  surprised  at  the  arrival  of 
Terence  at  the  head  of  two  well-armed  regiments.  His  force 
had  swelled  considerably  in  point  of  numbers,  for  he  had  sent 
messengers  all  over  the  country  to  the  priests,  and  these,  hav- 
ing a  horror  of  the  French,  had  stirred  up  the  peasants  by 
threats  of  eternal  perdition  if  they  came  back  j  while  Romana 
issued  proclamations  threatening  death  to  all  who  did  not  take 
up  arms.  Thus  he  had  some  8,000  men  collected,  of  whom 
fully  half  were  his  own  dispersed  soldiers.  He  received  Ter- 
ence with  effusion. 

"Have  you  brought  me  arms  ?  "  was  his  first  question. 

"  No,  sir;  no  transport  could  be  obtained  in  Lisbon,  and 
it  was  found  impossible  to  despatch  any  muskets  to  you.  I 
have,  however,  four  thousand  pounds,  in  dollars,  to  hand 
over.  At  starting  I  had  five  thousand,  but  of  these  I  have, 
in  the  exercise  of  my  discretion,  retained  a  thousand  for  the 
purchase  of  provisions  and  necessaries  for  these  two  Portu- 
guese regiments  which  are  under  my  command,  and  with 


254  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

which  I  hope  to  do  good  service  by  co-operating  with  your 
force.  Have  you  not  found  great  difficulty  in  victualling 
your  men  ?  ' ' 

"  No,  I  have  had  no  trouble  on  that  score,"  the  marquis 
said.  "  I  found  that  a  magazine  of  provisions  had  been  col- 
lected for  the  use  of  General  Moore's  army  at  Montrui,  three 
miles  from  here,  and  have  been  supporting  my  troops  on  the 
contents.  The  money  will  be  most  useful,  however,  directly 
we  move.  Fully  half  of  my  men  have  guns,  for  the  Galician 
peasants  are  accustomed  to  the  use  of  arms.  I  wish  that  it 
had  been  more,  but  four  thousand  pounds  will  be  very  welcome. 
Do  you  propose  to  join  my  force  with  your  regiments?  " 

"  Not  exactly  to  join  them,  General;  my  orders  are  to  give 
you  such  assistance  as  I  can,  and  I  think  that  I  can  do  more 
by  co-operating  with  you  independently.  In  the  first  place,  I 
do  not  think  that  my  Portuguese  would  like  to  be  commanded 
by  a  Spanish  general ;  in  the  second  place,  it  would  be  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  feed  so  large  a  body  of  troops  in  these 
mountains,  and  the  smaller  the  number  the  more  easily  can 
they  move  about.  Besides,  in  these  defiles  a  large  force  of  un- 
disciplined men  could  not  act  efficiently,  and  in  case  of  a 
reverse  would  fall  rapidly  into  confusion.  I  propose  to  use 
my  force  as  a  sort  of  flying  column,  co-operating  with  yours. 
Thus,  if  you  attack  the  head  of  a  column,  I  will  fall  on  their 
flank  or  rear,  will  harass  their  line  of  communication,  blow 
up  bridges  and  destroy  roads,  and  so  render  their  movements 
slow  and  difficult.  By  such  means  I  should  certainly  render 
you  more  efficient  service  than  if  my  regiments  were  to  form 
a  part  of  your  force. ' ' 

"Perhaps  that  would  be  best,"  Romana  said.  "Could 
you  supply  me  with  any  ammunition  ?  For  although  the 
peasants  have  guns,  very  few  have  more  than  a  few  rounds  of 
ammunition,  and  even  this  is  not  made  up  into  cartridges." 


AN   INDEPENDENT   COMMAND  255 

"  That  I  can  do,  sir.  I  can  give  you  20,000  rounds  of 
ammunition  and  ten  barrels  of  powder.  I  have  no  lead,  but 
you  may  perhaps  be  able  to  obtain  that. ' ' 

"Yes.  The  priests,  in  fact,  have  sent  in  a  considerable 
amount.  They  have  stripped  the  roofs  off  their  churches. 
That  will  be  a  most  welcome  supply  indeed,  and  I  am  heartily 
obliged  to  you." 

The  gift  of  the  ammunition  had  the  effect  of  doing  away 
with  any  discontent  the  Spaniard  may  have  felt  on  finding 
that  Terence  was  going  to  act  independently  of  him.  It  had 
indeed  already  flashed  across  his  mind  that  it  might  be  un- 
pleasant always  to  have  a  British  officer  with  him,  from  whose 
opinion  he  might  frequently  differ,  and  who  might  endeavour 
to  control  his  movements.  He  had  hardly  expected  that, 
with  so  much  on  their  hands,  and  the  claims  that  would  be 
made  from  Oporto  for  assistance,  they  would  have  sent  any 
money  ;  and  the  sixteen  thousand  dollars  were  therefore  most 
welcome,  while  the  ammunition  would  be  invaluable  to  him. 

Terence  had  taken  out  his  share  of  the  money,  and  the  cart 
with  the  remainder  for  Romana  was  now  at  the  door.  The  sacks 
were  brought  in,  Romana  called  in  four  or  five  officers,  the  dol- 
lars were  counted  out  and  a  receipt  given  to  Terence  for  them. 

"  I  will  send  the  ammunition  up  in  half  an  hour,  Marquis." 

"  I  thank  you  greatly,  senor.  I  will  at  once  order  a  num- 
'ber  of  men  to  set  to  work  casting  bullets  and  preparing  cart- 
ridge-cases. In  the  meantime,  please  let  me  hear  what  are 
your  general's  plans  for  the  defence  of  Portugal." 

Terence  told  him  that  he  was  unaware  what  were  the  in- 
tentions of  the  British  general,  but  that,  from  what  he  learned 
during  the  few  hours  that  he  was  at  Lisbon,  he  thought  it 
improbable  in  the  extreme  that  Sir  John  Cradock  would  be 
able  to  send  any  force  to  check  the  advance  of  the  French 
upon  Oporto. 


256  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"In  the  first  place,"  he  said,  "he  is  absolutely  without 
transport ;  and  in  the  second  Victor  has  a  large  army,  and 
now  that  Saragossa  has  fallen,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  his 
marching  direct  upon  Lisbon.  Lapisse  is  at  Salamanca  and 
can  enter  Portugal  from  the  east.  The  whole  country  is  in 
confusion  ;  with  the  exception  of  a  force  gathering  under  Lord 
Beresford  there  is  no  army  whatever.  Lisbon  is  almost  at  the 
mercy  of  the  mob,  who,  supported  by  the  government,  march 
about  with  British  muskets  and  pikes,  killing  all  they  suspect 
of  being  favourable  to  the  French,  and  even  attacking  British 
soldiers  and  officers  in  the  streets. 

' '  Were  the  general  to  march  north,  he  would  not  get  news 
of  Victor's  advance  in  time  to  get  back  to  save  Lisbon,  there- 
fore I  fear  that  it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  him  to  attempt 
to  check  the  French  until  they  cross  the  Douro,  perhaps  not 
until  they  cross  the  Mondego.  The  levies  of  the  northern 
province  are  ordered  to  assemble  at  Villa  Real,  and  I  believe, 
from  what  I  gathered  on  the  march,  that  some  thousands  of 
men  are  there,  but  I  doubt  very  greatly  whether  they  are  in  a 
state  to  offer  any  determined  resistance  to  Soult." 

"That  is  a  bad  look-out,"  the  general  said,  gloomily; 
"  still,  we  must  hope  for  the  best,  as  Spain  will  soon  raise 
fresh  armies,  and  so  occupy  the  attention  of  the  enemy  that 
Soult  will  have  to  fall  back.  I  am  in  communication  with 
General  Silveira,  who  will  advance  to  Chaves ;  he  has  four 
thousand  men.  He  has  written  to  me  that  the  bishop  had 
collected  50,000  peasants  at  Oporto." 

"Where  they  will  probably  do  more  harm  than  good," 
Terence  said,  scornfully.  "  I  would  rather  have  half  a  regi- 
ment cf  British  troops  than  the  whole  lot  of  them.  It  is  not 
men  that  are  wanted,  it  is  discipline,  and  50,000  peasants  will 
be  even  more  unmanageable  and  useless  than  5,000  would  be. 
By  the  way,  General,  I  have  now  to  inform  you  that  General 


A&   INDEPENDENT    COMMAND  257 

Cradock  has  done  me  the  honour  of  placing  me  on  his  personal 
staff." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  the  marquis  said,  courteously;  "it 
will  certainly  increase  your  authority  greatly." 

Terence,  leaving  Romana,  marched  his  troops  to  within  a 
mile  of  Monterey,  choosing  a  spot  where  there  was  a  wood 
which  would  afford  some  shelter  to  the  troops,  and  would  give 
them  a  supply  of  firewood.  At  Monterey  he  would  be  able  to 
purchase  provisions,  and  he  wished  to  keep  them  apart  from 
Romana's  men,  whose  undisciplined  habits  and  general  in- 
subordination would  counteract  his  efforts  with  his  own  men. 

The  next  ten  days  were  spent  in  almost  incessant  drilling,  and 
in  practising  shooting.  Bread  and  wine  were  obtained  from 
Monterey,  and  he  purchased  a  large  flock  of  sheep  at  a  very 
low  price,  the  peasants,  in  their  fear  of  the  French,  being  very 
anxious  to  turn  their  flocks  and  herds  into  money,  which  could 
be  hid  away  securely  until  the  tide  of  invasion  had  passed. 
Laborious  and  frugal  in  their  habits,  these  peasants  seldom 
touch  meat,  and  the  troops  were  highly  gratified  at  the  rations 
supplied  to  them,  and  worked  hard  and  cheerfully  at  their  drill. 

Among  so  many  men  there  were  naturally  a  few  who  were 
inclined  to  be  insubordinate.  These  were  speedily  weeded 
out.  The  offenders  were  promptly  seized,  flogged,  and  ex- 
pelled from  the  force,  their  places  being  supplied  from  among 
the  peasants,  many  of  whom  were  desirous  of  enlisting.  Ter- 
ence sent  these  off,  save  a  few  he  selected,  to  Silveira,  as  his 
own  force  was  quite  as  large  as  could  properly  be  handled. 
With  improved  food  and  incessant  drill  the  men  rapidly  de- 
veloped into  soldiers.  Each  carried  a  rough  native  blanket 
rolled  up  like  a  scarf  over  one  shoulder.  This  was  indeed  the 
only  point  of  regular  equipment.  They  had  no  regular  uni- 
form, but  they  were  all  in  their  peasant  dresses.  There  was 
no  communication  between  them  and  Romana's  forces,  for  the 
'7 


258  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

animosity  between  the  two  peoples  amounted  to  hatred.  The 
Portuguese  would  indeed  have  marched  to  attack  them  as  will- 
ingly as  they  would  have  received  the  order  to  move  against 
the  French. 

During  this  week  of  waiting  Silveira  with  4,000  men  arrived 
at  Chaves,  and  a  meeting  took  place  between  him  and  Romana. 
Both  had  plans  equally  wild  and  impracticable,  neither  would 
give  way,  and  as  they  were  well  aware  that  their  forces  would 
never  act  together,  they  decided  to  act  independently  against 
the  French.  At  the  end  of  eight  days  the  news  came  that 
Soult,  having  made  all  his  preparations,  had  left  Orense  on 
his  march  southward. 

Terence  had  bought  a  quantity  of  rough  canvas,  and  the 
men,  as  they  sat  round  the  fires  after  their  day's  work  was 
over,  made  haversacks  in  which  they  could  carry  rations  for  four 
or  five  days.  As  soon  as  the  news  was  received  that  Soult  was 
advancing,  Terence  ordered  sufficient  bread  to  supply  them 
for  that  time,  from  the  bakehouses  of  Monterey.  A  hundred 
rounds  of  ball-cartridge  were  served  round  to  each.  A  light 
cart  containing  eight  barrels  of  powder,  a  bag  with  1,000 
dollars,  and  the  tent,  was  the  only  vehicle  taken,  and  the  rest 
of  the  ammunition  and  powder  was  buried  deep  in  the  wood, 
and  the  bulk  of  the  money  privately  hidden  in  another  spot 
by  Terence  and  Herrara.  Twelve  horns  had  been  obtained ; 
several  of  the  men  were  able  to  blow  them,  and  these,  attached 
one  to  each  company,  had  learned  a  few  calls.  Terence  and 
Herrara  took  their  post  at  the  edge  of  the  wood  to  watch  the 
two  regiments  march  past. 

"  I  think  they  will  do,"  Terence  said ;  "  they  have  picked 
up  marvellously  since  they  have  been  here;  and  though  I  should 
not  like  to  trust  them  in  the  plain  with  Franceschi's  cavalry 
sweeping  down  upon  them,  I  think  that  in  mountain  work 
they  can  be  trusted  to  make  a  stand. ' ' 


THE   FIRST   SKIRMISH  259 

"  I  think  so,"  Herrara  agreed.  "  They  have  certainly  im- 
proved wonderfully.  Our  peasants  are  very  docile  and  easily 
led  when  they  have  confidence  in  their  commander,  and  are 
not  stirred  up  by  agitators,  but  they  are  given  to  sudden  fury, 
as  is  shown  by  the  frightful  disorders  at  Lisbon  and  Oporto. 
However,  they  certainly  have  confidence  in  you,  and  if  they 
are  successful  in  the  first  skirmish  or  two  they  can  be  trusted 
to  fight  stoutly  afterwards. ' ' 


CHAPTER    XV 

THE     FIRST    SKIRMISH 

OOULT  had  spent  a  month  in  making  his  preparations  for 
O  the  invasion  of  Portugal.  The  time,  however,  had  not 
been  wasted  by  him.  Vigo,  Tuy,  and  Guardia  had  all  been 
occupied  without  opposition.  Salvatierra  on  the  Minho  had 
been  taken  possession  of,  and  thus  three  roads  were  open  to 
him  by  which  to  cross  low  down  on  the  river,  namely,  at 
Guardia,  Tuy,  and  Salvatierra.  These  roads  afforded  the 
shortest  and  easiest  line  to  Oporto.  Romana  and  Silveira 
had  both  been  of  opinion  that  he  would  march  south  from 
Orense,  through  Monterey,  and  up  the  valley  of  the  Tamega, 
and  their  plans  were  all  made  with  a  view  of  opposing  his 
advance  in  that  direction.  The  night  before  Terence  marched 
he  called  upon  Romana. 

"  It  seems  to  me  probable,  Marquis,  as  it  does  to  you,  that 
the  French  will  advance  by  this  line,  but  it  is  possible  that 
they  may  follow  the  north  bank  of  the  Minho  and  cross  at 
Salvatierra  or  Tuy.  By  that  route  they  would  have  several 
rivers  to  cross  but  no  mountains  or  defiles.  Were  they  to 
throw  troops  across  there  they  would  meet  with  no  opposition 


260  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

until  they  arrived  at  Oporto.  It  seems  to  me  that  my  best 
plan  would  be  to  march  west  and  endeavour  to  prevent  such 
a  passage  being  made.  If  I  could  do  so  it  would  prevent  your 
position  being  turned.  There  are  no  bridges  marked  on  my 
map,  and  if  I  could  secure  the  boats  we  should,  at  any  rate, 
cause  Soult  much  difficulty  and  delay.  No  doubt  there  are 
some  local  levies  there,  and  we  should  be  able  to  watch  a  con- 
siderable extent  of  the  river;  indeed,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  they 
must  cross,  if  they  cross  at  all  there,  at  one  of  the  three  towns 
on  the  north  side,  for  it  is  only  by  the  roads  running  through 
these  that  they  could  carry  their  artillery  and  baggage." 

"I  think  that  will  be  an  excellent  plan,"  Romana  said, 
"  for  although  I  believe  that  they  will  come  this  way,  I  have 
been  very  uneasy  at  the  thought  that  they  might  possibly 
cross  lower  down,  and  so  turn  our  position  altogether.  But 
you  will  have  to  watch  not  only  the  three  places  through  which 
the  roads  pass,  but  other  parts  of  the  river,  for  they  may  throw 
a  few  hundred  men  across  in  boats  at  any  point,  and  these 
falling  suddenly  upon  your  parties  on  the  bank,  might  drive 
them  away  and  enable  the  main  body  to  cross  without  resist- 
ance." 

"  I  will  keep  as  sharp  a  look-out  as  I  can,  Marquis." 
Marching  north  from  Monterey  the  troops  moved  through 
Villa  Real  and  Gingo,  and  then,  turning  west,  crossed  the  river 
Lima,  there  a  small  stream,  and  then  following  the  valley  of 
that  river  for  some  distance,  turned  off  and  struck  the  Minho 
opposite  Salvatierra,  having  covered  fifty  miles  in  two  days. 
Here  a  considerable  number  of  armed  peasants  and  ordenancas 
were  gathered.  They  were  delighted  at  the  arrival  of  two 
well-armed  regiments  ;  and  hearing  from  Herrara  that  Terence 
was  a  staff-officer  of  the  British  general,  and  was  sent  by  him 
to  direct  the  defence  of  the  river,  they  at  once  placed  them- 
selves under  his  orders. 


THE    FIRST   SKIRMISH  261 

Terence  found,  to  his  satisfaction,  that  on  the  approach  of 
the  French  most  of  the  boats  had  been  removed  to  the  south 
side  of  the  river  and  hauled  up  the  bank.  His  first  order 
was  that  anyone  acquainted  with  the  position  of  any  boats  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river  should  at  once  inform  him  of  it.  It 
was  not  long  before  he  heard  of  some  twenty  or  thirty  that 
had  been  hidden  by  their  owners  on  the  other  side,  in  order 
that  they  might  have  the  means  of  crossing  to  escape  the  French 
exactions.  At  nightfall  several  boats  were  launched,  and 
parties  of  men,  directed  by  those  who  had  given  information, 
started  to  cross  the  river  and  bring  those  boats  over.  The 
Minho  was  at  this  time  in  flood  and  was  running  with  great 
rapidity,  and  Terence  felt  confident  that  in  its  present  state 
none  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  would  attempt  to  cross  it  by 
swimming. 

He  decided  on  placing  the  largest  part  of  his  force  opposite 
Tuy,  as  the  principal  road  south  passed  through  this  town, 
and  he  would  here  be  supported  by  the  guns  of  the  fortress 
of  Valenca.  He  stationed  his  first  battalion  here,  with  orders 
to  line  the  river  for  six  miles  above  and  below  this  spot. 
Half  of  the  second  battalion  he  left  under  Macwitty,  and  with 
the  other  half  determined  to  march  down  towards  the  mouth 
of  the  river.  The  next  morning  all  the  boats  returned,  bring- 
ing those  for  which  they  had  been  searching,  and  after  closely 
questioning  the  guides  he  felt  assured  that  there  could  be  so 
few  remaining  that  the  French  would  hardly  attempt  to  cross 
the  river  in  the  face  of  the  crowd  of  peasants — whom  they 
could  not  but  see — lining  the  southern  bank. 

As  soon  as  the  boats  had  returned  he  marched  with  the  three 
companies.  When  half-way  between  Valenca  and  Caminha 
he  met  a  peasant,  who  had  crossed  from  the  northern  bank  in 
a  boat  that  had  escaped  the  search  of  the  French.  He  re- 
ported that  some  days  before  some  10,000  of  the  French  had 


262  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  village  Campo  Sancos,  and 
that  a  division  had  been  hard  at  work  since  their  arrival  trans- 
porting some  large  fishing-boats  and  heavy  guns  from  the  har- 
bour of  Guardia  to  Campo  Sancos.  The  guns  had  been  placed 
in  a  battery  on  a  height,  and  the  boats  launched  in  a  little 
river  that  ran  into  the  Minho  village.  Terence  learned  that  the 
work  was  now  nearly  completed,  and  the  peasant  had  risked 
his  life  in  coming  across  to  give  information. 

Terence  at  once  sent  off  a  mounted  man  to  Valenca  to  re- 
quest Herrara  to  march  down  with  the  first  battalion  and  to 
send  on  to  Macwitty  to  leave  one  company  to  assist  the  or- 
denancas  to  guard  the  river  between  Salvatierra  and  Valen- 
ca, and  to  take  post  with  the  other  two  in  front  of  the  latter 
town.  At  nightfall  he  was  joined  by  Herrara. 

After  explaining  the  situation  to  him,  Terence  said  : 

"  It  will  not  be  necessary  to  watch  the  river  above  Campo 
Sancos,  for  it  would  be  impossible  to  row  heavy  fishing-boats 
against  this  stream,  so  they  must  land  somewhere  between 
that  place  and  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Thus  we  have  only 
some  eight  miles  to  guard,  and  as  we  have  eighteen  hundred 
men,  besides  the  peasants,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  do  that 
thoroughly.  I  expect  they  will  endeavour  to  make  the  pas- 
sage to-night,  and  they  will  certainly  cross,  as  nearly  as  they 
can,  opposite  the  village.  The  battery  is  about  a  mile  below 
it,  and  is  no  doubt  intended  to  cover  their  landing.  I  shall 
post  myself  with  two  companies  of  the  first  battalion  there, 
and  extend  another  company  from  that  point  up  to  Campos 
Sancos.  You,  with  the  other  three  companies  and  the  three 
companies  of  the  second  battalion,  will  watch  the  river  be- 
low. 

"  It  is  unlucky  that  there  is  no  moon  at  present.  I  do  not 
expect,  however,  that  the  attack  will  take  place  till  morning, 
for,  in  the  first  place,  the  peasant  said  that  although  the  guns 


THE   FIRST  SKIRMISH  263 

had  been  got  up  to  the  height  they  had  not  yet  been  placed  in 
position,  and  as  we  have  noticed  no  movement  there  all  day, 
nor  seen  a  French  soldier  anywhere  near  the  river,  they  will 
only  be  beginning  work  now,  and  can  hardly  have  finished 
it  until  well  on  in  the  night.  Besides,  when  the  first  party 
who  crossed  have  obtained  a  footing  here,  the  boats  will  have 
to  go  backwards  and  forwards.  No  doubt  the  cavalry  will  be 
among  the  first  to  cross,  and  they  would  hardly  get  the  horses 
on  board  in  the  dark.  It  is  of  vital  importance  to  repel  this 
attack,  for  if  the  French  got  across  they  would  be  at  Vianna 
to-morrow  evening,  and  at  Oporto  three  days  later.  I  don't 
suppose  that  place  will  resist  for  a  day  ;  and  if,  as  is  probable, 
Victor  moves  up  from  the  south,  he  and  Soult  may  be  in  front 
of  Lisbon  in  ten  days'  time. 

"  You  had  better  tell  your  captains  this,  in  order  that 
they  may  understand  how  vital  it  is  to  prevent  the  passage. 
From  what  I  hear  from  the  peasants,  the  boats  will  not  be  able 
to  carry  more  than  three  or  four  hundred  men,  and  wher- 
ever they  land  we  ought  to  be  able  to  crush  them  before  the 
boats  can  cross  again  and  bring  over  reinforcements." 

"  Well,  Bull,  I  think  we  are  likely  to  have  fighting  to- 
night," Terence  said,  as  Herrara  marched  off  with  his  men. 

"  I  hope  so,  sir.  I  don't  think  they  will  be  able  to  cross  in 
our  face,  and  it  will  do  the  men  a  lot  of  good  to  win  the 
first  fight." 

"  If  Romana's  troops  were  worth  anything,  Soult  would 
find  himself  in  an  awkward  position.  He  has  got  his  whole 
army  jammed  up  in  the  corner  here,  and  if  he  cannot  cross 
there  is  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  march  along  the  river 
to  Orense,  and  then  come  down  by  the  road  through  Monte- 
rey. There  are  several  streams  to  cross  as  he  marches  up  the 
bank.  Romana  is  sure  to  have  heard  of  his  concentrating 
somewhere  down  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  I  should 


264  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

think  that  by  this  time  he  will  have  crossed  near  Orense,  and 
will  arrive  in  time  to  dispute  the  passage  of  these  streams. 
He  told  me  that  the  Galician  peasants  have  been  so  enraged 
by  their  cattle  being  carried  off  for  the  use  of  the  French 
army  that  they  will  rise  in  insurrection  the  instant  the  French 
march,  and  if  that  is  the  case,  they  and  Romana  ought  to  be 
able  to  give  Soult  a  lot  of  trouble  before  he  reaches  Orense. ' ' 

"  I  don't  think  those  fellows  with  Romana  are  likely  to  do 
much,  sir.  The  French  will  just  sweep  them  before  them." 

11 1  am  afraid  so,  Bull ;  still,  if  we  can  prevent  the  French 
from  crossing  here  and  compel  them  to  follow  the  long  road 
through  Monterey,  we  shall  have  done  good  service.  It 
would  give  Portugal  another  seven  or  eight  days  to  prepare, 
and  will  send  the  enemy  through  a  country  where  undisci- 
plined troops  ought  to  be  able  to  make  a  stand  even  against 
soldiers  like  the  French." 

All  through  the  night  Terence  and  his  major  patrolled  the 
bank  from  the  point  facing  Campo  Sancos  to  a  mile  below 
that  on  which  the  French  were  placing  their  guns.  Every- 
thing went  on  quietly,  sentries  at  intervals  kept  watch,  and 
the  men,  wrapped  in  their  blankets,  lay  down  in  parties  of 
fifty  at  short  intervals. 

"  The  day  is  beginning  to  break,"  Terence  said,  as  he  met 
Bull  coming  back  from  the  lower  end  of  the  line.  "I  am 
not  afraid  now,  for  if  we  can  but  see  them  coming  we  can 
gather  two  or  three  hundred  men  at  any  point  they  may  be 
making  for.  Besides,  our  shooting  would  be  very  wild  in 
the  dark." 

"That  it  would,  sir;  not  one  shot  in  fifty  would  hit  the 
boats,  let  alone  the  men ;  and  when  the  Portuguese  saw  the 
boats  come  on  without  pause  in  spite  of  their  fire,  they  would 
be  likely  to  lose  heart  and  to  get  unsteady." 

"  We  may  as  well  stop  here,  Bull.     It  will  be  light  enough 


THE   FIRST   SKIRMISH  265 

to  see  across  the  river  in  another  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  if 
there  are  no  boats  coming  then,  I  think  it  is  pretty  certain 
that  they  will  not  begin  until  to-morrow  night.  The  peas- 
ant said  that  they  have  only  got  10,000  troops  there  as  yet, 
and  we  know  that  Soult  has  more  than  double  that,  and  he 
may  wait  another  day  for  them  all  to  come  up." 

Ten  minutes  later  one  of  the  sentries  close  to  them  shouted 
out  that  he  could  see  boats.  Terence  ran  up  to  him. 

"  Where  are  they,  my  man  ?  " 

"  Nearly  opposite,  sir." 

Terence  gazed  fixedly  for  a  moment,  and  then  said :  "I 
see  them;  they  are  heading  straight  across."  Then  he  gave 
the  order  to  the  man  who  always  accompanied  him  with  a 
horn,  to  blow  the  alarm. 

At  the  sound,  the  troops  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  some 
hundreds  of  peasants,  who  were  lying  down  a  short  distance 
behind,  ran  up.  The  horn  was  evidently  heard  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  for  immediately  the  guns  of  the  battery 
opposite  opened  fire,  and  their  shot  whizzed  overhead.  The 
boats  plied  their  oars  vigorously,  and  the  French  soldiers 
cheered ;  they  were  but  some  three  hundred  yards  away 
when  first  discovered.  The  Portuguese  were  coming  rapidly 
up  at  the  double.  Terence  shouted  that  not  a  shot  was  to 
be  fired  until  he  gave  the  order.  He  was  obeyed  by  his  own 
men,  but  the  peasants  at  once  began  a  wild  fire  at  the  boats. 
By  the  time  these  were  within  fifty  yards  of  the  shore  Ter- 
ence saw  with  satisfaction  that  fully  a  company  had  come  up. 
The  men  stood  firmly,  although  the  balls  from  the  French 
battery  ploughed  up  the  ground  around  them. 

"Wait  until  the  first  boat  grounds,"  Terence  shouted 
again.  Another  minute  and  the  first  fishing-boat  touched 
the  shore.  Then  the  horn  sounded,  and  the  front  line  of  the 
Portuguese  poured  a  terrible  volley  into  it.  A  few  of  the 


WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

French  soldiers  only  succeeded  in  gaining  the  land,  and  these 
were  at  once  shot  down.  Then  the  troops  opened  a  rolling 
fire  upon  the  other  boats.  The  French  replied  with  their 
musketry,  but  their  fire  was  feeble.  They  had  expected  to 
have  effected  a  landing  with  but  slight  opposition,  and  the 
concentrated  fire  of  the  troops  and  the  peasantry  convinced 
them  that,  even  should  they  gain  the  shore,  they  would  be 
greatly  outnumbered,  and  would  be  shot  down  before  they 
could  gather  in  any  regular  formation.  Many  of  the  rowers, 
who  were  Spanish  peasants  forced  into  the  work,  had  fallen. 
Most  of  their  comrades  left  the  oars  and  threw  themselves 
into  the  bottom  of  the  boats,  and  the  craft  drifted  down  the 
stream. 

Shouts  of  triumph  rose  from  the  Portuguese,  who  obeyed 
the  signal  to  form  fours,  and  marched  along  parallel  with  the 
boats,  forming  line  occasionally  and  firing  heavy  volleys. 
The  French  soldiers  now  seized  the  oars  and  rowed  the  craft 
into  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  then  slowly  and  painfully 
made  their  way  to  Campo  Sancos,  having  lost  more  than  half 
of  the  three  hundred  men  who  had  left  there.  The  French 
battery  ceased  to  fire,  and  the  din  of  battle  was  succeeded  by 
a  dead  silence.  Once  convinced  that  the  French  had  aban- 
doned the  attempt  to  land,  the  Portuguese  broke  into  loud 
shouts  of  triumph,  which  were  only  checked  when  Terence 
ordered  them  to  form  up  in  close  order.  When  they  did  so  he 
addressed  a  few  words  to  them,  complimenting  them  upon  the 
steadiness  that  they  had  shown,  and  upon  their  obeying  his 
order  to  reserve  their  fire  till  the  French  were  close  at  hand. 

"I  was  convinced  that  you  would  behave  well,"  he  said, 
"  and  in  future  I  shall  have  no  hesitation  in  meeting  a  body 
of  French  equal  in  numbers  to  yourselves." 

Messengers  were  at  once  despatched  to  order  up  all  the 
troops  that  had  been  posted  below,  and  in  two  hours  the 


THE   FIRST   SKIRMISH  267 

whole  force,  with  the  exception  of  the  three  companies,  be- 
tween them  and  Salvatierra,  were  assembled. 

"The  question  is,  Herrara,"  Terence  said,  when  he  and 
his  colonel  had  exchanged  congratulations  on  the  repulse  of 
the  French,  "  what  will  Soult  do  next? 

"  That  is  a  question  upon  which  everything  depends.  I 
don't  think  he  will  try  again  here.  He  has  been  eight  days 
in  preparing  those  boats  to  cross,  and  now  that  he  knows 
there  is  a  very  strong  force  here,  and  that  even  if  he  got 
three  or  four  times  as  many  boats  he  would  scarcely  be  able 
to  force  a  passage,  my  idea  is  that  he  will  abandon  the  attack 
and  march  at  once  for  Orense.  In  that  case  the  question  is, 
shall  we  wait  until  we  have  assured  ourselves  that  he  has 
gone,  and  then  follow  and  harass  his  rear?  or  shall  we  march 
up  the  river  and  then  cross  to  help  Romana  to  bar  his  pas- 
sage?" 

"I  think  the  latter  will  be  the  best  plan.  You  see,  we 
should  not  be  cutting  his  communication  were  we  to  march 
now,  because  when  he  has  crossed  the  river  Avia  he  will 
have  direct  communication  with  Ney,  and  will  of  course 
draw  all  his  supplies  from  the  north,  so  I  think  that  we  had 
better  lose  no  time  in  pushing  up  along  the  river." 

The  troops  were  ordered  to  light  fires  and  cook  their  break- 
fast. While  this  was  going  on  Terence  assembled  the  peasant 
bands,  and  told  them  that  he  thought  the  French  would  not 
make  another  attempt  to  cross,  but  that  they  must  remain  in 
a  state  of  watchfulness  until  they  received  certain  news  from 
the  other  side  that  they  had  marched  for  Orense. 

As  soon  as  breakfast  was  over  and  the  cooking-pots  packed 
in  the  cart,  the  two  regiments  started  on  their  march.  They 
were  in  high  spirits,  and  laughed  and  sang  as  they  tramped 
along.  They  had  lost  but  two  killed  by  the  French  musketry 
fire,  and  there  were  but  five  so  severely  wounded  as  to  be  un- 


WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

able  to  take  their  places  in  the  ranks.  These  Terence  ordered 
to  be  taken  in  a  country  cart  to  Pontelima,  and  he  provided 
them  with  money  for  their  support  there  until  cured. 

The  men  having  been  on  foot  all  night,  Terence  halted 
them  after  doing  fifteen  miles.  On  the  following  morning, 
soon  after  they  had  started,  they  saw  a  large  body  of  French 
cavalry  following  the  road  by  the  river.  These  were  La 
Houssaye's,  who  had  been  quartered  at  Salvatierra.  The 
river  here  was  narrower  than  it  had  been  below,  and  halting 
the  troops  and  forming  them  in  line,  two  or  three  volleys  were 
fired  across  the  river.  These  did  some  execution,  and  caused 
much  confusion  in  the  French  ranks.  The  horsemen,  how- 
ever, galloped  rapidly  up  the  river,  and  were  soon  out  of 
range. 

"That  settles  the  question,  Herrara.  The  French  are  re- 
tracing their  steps,  and  bound  for  Orense.  Soult  has  not  let 
the  grass  grow  under  his  feet,  and  the  cavalry  are  evidently 
sent  on  to  clear  out  any  bands  of  peasants  that  may  be  gather- 
ing at  the  rivers." 

La  Houssaye,  indeed,  twice  in  the  course  of  the  day  broke 
up  irregular  bands,  and  burned  two  villages.  The  infantry 
and  artillery,  after  passing  through  Salvatierra,  moved  by  the 
main  road.  This,  however,  was  found  to  be  so  bad  that  the 
artillery  were,  with  ten  of  the  sixteen  light  guns,  and  six 
howitzers,  left  behind  at  Tuy,  with  a  great  ammunition  and 
baggage  train,  together  with  900  sick.  A  garrison  of  500 
men  were  left  in  the  fort.  Orders  were  given  that  all  strag- 
glers were  to  be  retained  at  that  place. 

The  march  of  the  French  was  not  unopposed.  When  they 
arrived  at  the  river  Morenta  they  found  800  Spaniards  had 
barricaded  the  bridges  and  repulsed  the  advance  parties  of 
cavalry.  On  the  iyth,  at  daybreak,  the  leading  division  at- 
tacked them  fiercely,  carried  the  bridge,  and  pursued  them 


THE  FRENCH  CAVALRY  RODE  UP  TOWARDS  THE  SQUARES,  BUT  WERE 
MET  WITH  HEAVY  VOLLEYS." 


THE    FIRST   SKIRMISH  269 

hotly,  until  at  a  short  distance  from  Ribadavia  the  Spaniards 
rallied  upon  some  10,000  irregulars  arrayed  in  order  of  battle 
in  a  strong  position  covering  the  town.  The  rest  of  the  divis- 
ion and  a  brigade  of  cavalry  came  up,  and,  directed  by  Soult 
himself,  attacked  the  Spaniards,  drove  them  through  the  town 
and  across  the  Avia  with  great  loss.  Twenty  priests  were 
found  among  the  slain.  The  next  day  three  or  four  thousand 
other  irregulars  from  the  valley  of  Avia  were  attacked  and 
scattered,  and  on  the  i8th  the  French  cavalry,  with  three 
brigades  of  infantry,  entered  Orense. 

An  hour  earlier  Terence  had  arrived  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river,  and  had  at  once  made  preparations  for  blowing  up 
the  bridge.  The  men  had  been  but  a  short  time  at  work 
when  numbers  of  the  townsmen  streamed  across  the  bridge 
and  reported  that  a  great  body  of  the  French  were  entering 
the  town.  Terence  had  a  hasty  consultation  with  Herrara, 
and  both  agreed  that  they  could  not  hope  to  hold  the  bridge 
long  against  the  whole  French  army,  especially  as  they  had 
learned  two  hours  before  from  a  peasant  who  had  ridden  up, 
that  strong  bodies  of  French  troops  had  crossed  the  river  by 
the  ferries  at  Ribadavia  and  Barbibante,  and  that  they  might 
shortly  be  attacked  in  flank.  The  powder-barrels  were  there- 
fore hastily  repacked,  and  the  troops  marched  off  towards  the 
hills  on  their  left. 

They  were  but  half-way  across  the  plain  when  a  regiment 
of  French  cavalry  were  seen  riding  in  pursuit.  The  regi- 
ments were  at  once  formed  into  squares  within  fifty  yards  of 
each  other,  and  Terence  and  Bull  in  the  centre  of  one  square, 
and  Herrara  and  Macwitty  in  the  other,  exhorted  the  men  to 
stand  steady,  assuring  them  there  was  nothing  whatever  to  be 
feared  from  the  cavalry  if  they  did  so.  The  French  rode  up 
towards  the  squares,  but  were  met  by  heavy  volleys,  and  after 
riding  round  them  drew  off,  having  suffered  considerable  loss, 


270  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

being  greatly  surprised  at  finding  that  instead  of  a  mob  of 
armed  men,  such  as  they  had  met  at  Avia,  they  were  en- 
countered by  soldiers  possessing  the  steadiness  of  trained  troops. 

The  regiments  resumed  their  march  until  far  up  the  hill, 
where  they  proceeded  to  cut  down  trees  and  brushwood  and 
to  form  an  encampment,  as  their  leader  had  decided  to  stay 
here  and  await  events  until  Soult's  intentions  were  clearly 
shown.  There  were  two  courses  open  to  the  French  general. 
He  might  advance  to  Allaritz  and  then  march  along  the  Lima, 
be  joined  by  his  artillery  and  train  from  Tuy,  and  then  move 
direct  upon  Oporto,  or  he  might  follow  the  valley  of  the  Ta- 
mega  to  Chaves,  whence  he  would  have  the  choice  of  routes, 
and  take  either  that  over  the  Sierra  de  Cabrera  to  Braga,  or 
continue  his  course  down  the  valley  until  he  reached  the 
Douro. 

It  was  not  until  the  4th  of  March  that  the  French  again 
moved  forward.  In  the  meantime  Terence  was  forced  to  re- 
main quiet,  except  that  each  day  he  marched  his  men  farther 
among  the  hills  and  drilled  them  for  some  hours  perseveringly. 
The  affair  on  the  Minho  and  the  repulse  of  the  French  cavalry 
had  given  them  great  confidence  in  themselves  and  their  leader, 
and  had  shown  them  the  value  of  steadiness,  and  of  maintain- 
ing order  and  discipline  in  the  ranks.  They  therefore  devoted 
themselves  even  more  willingly  and  zealously  than  before  to 
their  military  exercises,  and  the  ten  days  taken  by  Soult  in 
preparing  for  the  advance  were  well  spent  in  accustoming  the 
Portuguese  to  rapid  movements  among  the  mountains,  and  to 
attaining  a  fair  knowledge  of  what  would  be  required  of  them 
in  mountain  warfare.  Two  companies  always  remained  in 
the  camp,  and  these  had  several  skirmishes  with  bodies  of 
French  marauders,  and  small  parties  of  cavalry  making  across 
the  country  to  ascertain  the  position  and  strength  of  the  Por- 
tuguese. 


THE   FIRST   SKIRMISH  271 

The  advance  of  the  French  was  rapid,  and  on  the  5th 
the  cavalry  and  a  portion  of  the  infantry  reached  Villa  Real, 
where,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  two  divisions  of  in- 
fantry arrived.  That  night  Terence  with  his  men  having  on 
the  4th  marched  along  the  hills  parallel  to  the  road,  made  a 
forced  march,  crossed  the  road  and  took  up  a  position  on  the 
spur  of  the  mountains  between  Montalegre  and  the  river. 
Even  yet  it  was  doubtful  which  route  Soult  intended  to  fol- 
low, as  the  division  at  Villa  Real  might  be  intended  only  to 
prevent  Romana  and  Silveira  falling  upon  his  flank.  As  he 
marched  down  the  valley  of  the  Lima,  he  had  learned  from 
Romana  that  he  and  Silveira  had  decided  to  fall  back  to 
Chaves,  and  that  he  agreed  with  Terence's  opinion  that  he 
had  better  remain  in  the  rear  of  the  French,  and  intercept 
their  communications  with  Orense. 

On  the  following  morning  the  French  advanced  in  force  to 
Monterey.  Romana  abandoned  the  position  as  they  advanced, 
drew  off  to  Verin,  and  then  retired  along  the  road  towards 
Sanabria.  He  thus  left  it  open  to  himself  either  to  follow  the 
road  to  Chaves,  as  agreed  upon,  or  to  retire  into  Spain 
through  the  mountains.  Franceschi's  cavalry  and  a  battalion 
of  French  infantry  overtook  between  two  and  three  thousand 
men  forming  the  rear  of  Romana' s  column.  The  latter  drew 
up  in  a  great  square.  Franceschi  attacked  the  rear  face  with 
his  infantry,  passed  with  his  cavalry  round  the  sides  of  the 
square,  and  placed  himself  between  it  and  the  rest  of  the  retir- 
ing column.  He  had  with  him  four  regiments  of  cavalry,  and 
now  hurled  a  regiment  at  each  side  of  the  square. 

The  Spaniards  were  at  once  seized  with  dismay,  broke 
their  formation,  and  in  a  moment  the  French  cavalry  were 
upon  them,  cutting  and  trampling  them  down.  Twelve  hun- 
dred were  killed  and  the  rest  made  prisoners.  As  soon  as 
Romana  heard  of  the  disaster  that  had  befallen  his  rear- 


272  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

guard,  he  broke  his  engagement  with  Silveira  and  led  his  force 
over  the  mountains  into  Spain,  where  the  news  of  his  defeat 
caused  the  Spanish  insurgent  bands  to  disperse  rapidly  to  their 
homes,  where  they  delivered  up  their  arms ;  and  even  the 
priests,  who  had  been  the  main  promoters  of  the  rising,  seeing 
the  failure  of  all  their  plans,  advised  them  to  maintain  a  peace- 
able attitude  in  future. 

Silveira  was  not  more  fortunate,  for  two  thousand  of  his 
troops  with  some  guns,  issuing  from  the  mountains  just  as 
Franceschi  returned  from  the  annihilation  of  Romana's  rear- 
guard, the  French  cavalry  charged  and  captured  the  Portu- 
guese guns,  and  drove  Silveira  down  the  valley. 

Soult  paused  two  days  at  Monterey,  the  baggage  and  hos- 
pital train,  and  a  great  convoy  of  provisions  being  brought  up 
from  Orense,  under  the  guard  of  a  whole  division.  This  ren- 
dered it  evident  that  he  intended  to  cut  himself  off  altogether 
from  Spain,  and  to  subsist  entirely  upon  the  country.  It  was 
clear  then  that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  fall  upon  his  rear, 
and  by  a  long  march  through  the  mountains  Terence  took  his 
force  down  to  Chaves. 

Here  he  found  that  Silveira,  deserted  by  Romana  and 
beaten  by  Franceschi,  had  fallen  back  to  a  mountain  immedi- 
ately behind  Chaves.  Terence  continued  his  march  until  he 
joined  him.  He  found  a  great  tumult  going  on  among  his 
troops ;  always  insubordinate,  they  were  now  in  a  state  of 
mutiny.  Many  of  the  officers  openly  advocated  that  they 
should  desist  from  a  struggle  in  which  success  was  altogether 
hopeless,  and  should  go  over  and  join  the  French.  The  troops, 
however,  not  only  spurned  the  advice,  but  fell  upon  and  killed 
several  of  those  who  offered  it,  and  demanded  from  Silveira 
that  he  should  lead  them  down  to  defend  Chaves.  This  he 
refused  to  do,  saying  that  the  fortifications  were  old  and  use-- 
less, the  guns  worn  out,  and  that  were  they  tQ  shut  them* 


THE    FIRST    SKIRMISH  273 

selves  up  there,  they  would  be  surrounded   and   forced  to 
surrender. 

This  refusal  excited  the  mutineers  to  the  highest  pitch,  and 
when  Terence  arrived  they  were  clamouring  for  his  death.  A 
small  party  of  soldiers  who  remained  faithful  to  him  sur- 
rounded him,  but  they  would  speedily  have  been  overpowered 
had  it  not  been  for  the  arrival  of  Terence's  command.  As 
soon  as  he  understood  what  was  happening,  he  formed  his  men 
into  a  solid  body,  marched  through  the  excited  crowd,  and 
formed  up  in  hollow  square  round  the  general.  The  firm  ap- 
pearance of  the  force  and  the  fact  that  they  possessed  more 
arms  than  the  whole  of  Silveira's  army,  had  its  effect.  The 
mutineers,  however,  to  the  number  of  3,500,  determined  to 
carry  out  their  intentions,  and  at  once  marched  away  to 
Chaves.  Silveira  remained  with  but  a  few  hundred  men,  as 
the  2,000  routed  by  Franceschi  had  not  rejoined  him. 

"I  owe  you  my  life,  sefior,"  he  said  to  Terence,  "for 
those  mad  fools  would  certainly  have  murdered  me." 

"It  is  not  surprising,"  Terence  said.  "A  mob  of  men 
who  are  not  soldiers  cannot  be  expected  to  observe  discipline, 
especially  when  insubordination  and  anarchy  have  been  abso- 
lutely fomented  by  the  authorities,  crimes  of  all  sorts  perpe- 
trated by  their  orders,  and  no  efforts  whatever  made  to  punish 
ill-doers." 

"  Your  men  seem  to  be  disciplined  and  obedient,"  Silveira 
said. 

"  They  have  been  taught  to  be  so,  General,  and  I  believe 
that  I  can  rely  upon  them  absolutely.  If  you  had  but  officers 
and  discipline,  I  am  certain  that  your  soldiers  would  be  excel- 
lent ;  but  as  it  is,  with  a  few  exceptions,  your  officers  are  worse 
than  useless.  They  are  appointed  as  a  reward  for  their  support 
of  the  Junta  ;  they  are  ignorant  of  their  duties,  and  many  of 
them  favour  the  French ;  they  regard  their  soldiers  as  raised, 
If 


274  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

not  for  the  defense  of  Portugal,  but  for  the  support  of  the 
Junta.  I  have  seen  enough  to  know  that  the  peasants  are 
brave,  hardy,  and  ready  to  fight.  But  what  can  they  do  when 
they  are  but  half- armed,  and  no  attempt  whatever  is  made  to 
discipline  them?  Have  you  heard,  since  these  troubles  be- 
gan, of  a  single  man  being  shot  for  insubordination,  or  of  a 
single  officer  being  punished  even  for  the  grossest  neglect  of 
orders  ?  It  is  nothing  short  of  murder  to  put  a  mob  of  half- 
armed  peasants  to  stand  against  French  troops." 

"  All  that  is  quite  true,"  Silveira  said,  heartily.  "  How- 
ever, I  shall  do  my  best,  and  shall,  I  doubt  not,  soon  have 
another  force  collected,  for  now  that  the  French  have  fairly 
entered  Portugal,  and  are  marching  towards  the  capital,  every 
man  will  take  up  arms.  And  you,  senor,  what  do  you  mean 
to  do?" 

"I  shall  harass  the  French  as  I  see  an  opportunity,  but  I 
shall  not  subject  my  men  to  certain  disaster  by  joining  any  of 
the  new  levies.  I  know  what  my  men  can  do,  and  what  I  can 
do  with  them ;  but  if  mixed  up  with  thousands  of  raw  peas- 
ants they  would  be  swept  away  by  the  latter  and  share  in  any 
misfortune  that  might  befall  them.  What  I  have  seen  of  your 
troops  to-day,  and  what  I  saw  of  Romana's,  is  quite  enough  to 
show  me  that  to  lead  peasants  into  the  field  is  simply  to  bring 
misfortune  and  death  upon  them.  Far  better  that  each  leader 
should  collect  two  or  three  hundred  men  and  teach  them  dis- 
cipline and  a  little  drill  instead  of  taking  a  mob  thousands 
strong  out  to  battle.  Those  men  that  have  marched  down  into 
Chaves  will,  you  will  see,  offer  no  resistance,  and  will  simply 
be  killed  or  made  prisoners  to  a  man.  Now,  may  I  ask  if  you 
have  any  stores  here,  General  ?  We  have  had  great  difficulty 
in  buying  food  up  in  the  mountains,  and  as  it  will  be  useless 
to  you,  and  certainly  cannot  be  carried  off,  I  should  be  glad 
to  fill  the  men's  haversacks  before  we  go  farther." 


IN   THE    PASSES  275 

"  Certainly.  I  had  enough  meat  and  bread  for  my  whole 
force  for  a  week,  and  you  are  welcome  to  take  as  much  as  you 
require.  Which  way  do  you  propose  marching  ?  " 

"  I  am  waiting  to  see  which  way  the  French  go  after  leav- 
ing Chaves.  Whether  they  go  down  the  valley  or  across  the 
mountains  to  Braga,  I  shall  endeavour  to  get  ahead  of  them ; 
and  as  my  men  are  splendid  marchers,  I  have  no  doubt  that  I 
shall  succeed  in  doing  so,  even  if  the  French  have  a  few  hours' 
start.  If  I  can  do  nothing  else,  I  can  at  least  make  their  cav- 
alry keep  together  instead  of  riding  in  small  parties  all  over 
the  country  to  sweep  in  food." 

Fires  were  soon  lighted,  some  bullocks  killed  and  cut  up, 
and  a  hearty  meal  eaten.  They  had  already  made  a  very  long 
march,  and  were  ordered  to  lie  down  until  nightfall.  Silveira 
marched  away  with  his  men,  and  Terence  and  Herrarasat  and 
watched  the  road,  down  which  bodies  of  French  troops  could 
already  be  seen  advancing  from  Monterey  towards  Chaves. 
As  they  approached  the  town,  gun  after  gun  was  fired.  The 
advance-guard  halted  and  waited  until  the  whole  division  had 
come  up. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

IN   THE   PASSES 

ON  the  following  day  the  French  cavalry,  with  a  division  of 
infantry,  took  up  their  position  beyond  the  town,  so  as  to 
cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  garrison,  who  were  then  summoned 
to  surrender.  No  reply  was  made,  but  for  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours  the  defenders,  although  in  no  way  attacked,  kept 
up  a  random  fire  from  the  guns  on  the  walls,  and  with  mus- 
ketry, to  which  no  reply  whatever  was  made  by  the  French. 


276  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

On  the  following  day,  the  whole  army  having  now  come  up, 
the  town  was  again  summoned,  and  at  once  surrendered,  when 
Soult,  who  did  not  wish  to  be  hampered  with  a  mob  of  pris- 
oners, contemptuously  allowed  them  to  depart  to  their  homes. 

After  bringing  up  his  sick  from  Chaves,  and  discovering 
that  the  passes  through  the  mountains  were  unoccupied,  and 
that  the  Portuguese  army  was  at  Braga,  Soult,  on  the  i4th, 
began  to  move  in  that  direction,  both  for  the  purpose  of  crush- 
ing Friere  and  getting  into  communication  with  Tuy,  and 
being  joined  by  his  artillery  from  there.  As  soon  as  this 
movement  was  seen  from  the  hill  where  Terence's  regiments 
had  been  for  three  days  resting,  preparations  were  made  for 
marching,  and  with  haversacks  well  filled  with  bread  and 
meat,  the  troops  started  in  good  spirits.  Terence  procured  the 
services  of  a  peasant  well  acquainted  with  the  mountains,  and 
was  led  by  paths  used  by  shepherds  across  the  hills,  and  after 
a  twelve  hours'  toilsome  journey  came  down  into  the  defiles 
that  the  French  were  following.  There  he  learned  from  peas- 
ants, that,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  scouting  party  two 
days  before,  there  were  no  signs  of  any  hostile  force. 

The  men  were  at  once  set  to  work  to  destroy  a  bridge  across 
a  torrent  at  the  mouth  of  a  defile.  It  was  built  of  stone,  but 
was  old  and  in  bad  repair,  and  the  men  had  little  difficulty  in 
prising  the  stones  of  the  side  walls  from  their  places,  and  throw- 
ing them  down  into  the  stream.  Another  party  made  a  hole 
over  the  key  of  an  arch.  A  barrel  of  powder  was  placed  here, 
and  a  train  having  been  laid,  was  covered  up  by  a  pile  of  rocks. 
A  third  party  formed  a  barricade  six  feet  high,  across  the  end 
of  the  bridge,  and  also  two  breastworks,  each  fifty  yards  away 
on  either  side,  so  as  to  flank  the  approaches  to  the  other  end 
and  the  bridge.  The  troops  were  extended  along  the  hillsides, 
one  "battalion  on  each  side  of  the  defile,  under  the  shelter  of 
the  rocks  and  brush. 


IN   THE    PASSES  277 

While  these  preparations  were  being  made,  the  horses  were 
taken  up  to  the  top  of  the  hills  by  some  paths  known  to  the 
peasants  of  a  little  village  near  the  mouth  of  the  defile,  the 
women  and  children  following  them.  Terence  and  Herrara 
had  a  consultation,  and  then  the  former  called  Bull  and  Mac- 
witty  to  him. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  you  understand  that  while  we  will  de- 
fend this  defile  as  long  as  we  can,  we  will  run  no  risk  of  a 
defeat  that  might  end  in  a  rout.  We  shall  inflict  heavy  loss 
upon  them  before  they  can  repair  the  bridge,  and  can  certainly 
force  their  cavalry  to  remain  quiet  until  they  bring  up  their 
infantry.  Colonel  Herrara,  you,  with  one  company  of  the 
second  battalion,  will  hold  the  village,  and  we  shall  sweep  the 
column  advancing  along  the  bottom  of  the  defile  with  a  fire 
from  each  flank,  while  they  will  also  be  exposed  to  your  fire 
in  front.  When  they  succeed  in  making  their  way  up  to 
within  charging  distance  you  will  evacuate  the  village  and  join 
Macwitty  on  the  hill. 

"  They  must  attack  us  there  on  both  sides,  for  no  troops 
could  march  through  until  the  hillsides  are  cleared.  It  is  prob- 
able that  they  may  do  this  before  they  attempt  to  attack  the 
village,  but  in  any  case  you  must  keep  up  a  steady  fire  until 
they  get  within  fifty  yards  of  you,  then  retire  up  the  hill,  but 
leave  a  party  to  keep  them  in  check  until  the  rest  have  gained 
the  crest  and  formed  up  in  good  order.  By  the  time  you  do 
this  they  will  have  driven  in  your  rear-guard.  The  French 
will  be  breathless  with  their  exertions  when  they  reach  you. 
Wait  till  a  considerable  number  have  gained  the  crest,  then,  be- 
fore they  have  time  to  form,  pour  a  heavy  volley  into  them  and 
charge,  and  then  sweep  them  with  your  fire  until  they  reach  the 
bottom.  The  next  time  they  will  no  doubt  attack  in  much 
greater  force  ;  in  that  case  we  will  move  quietly  off  without 
waiting  for  them,  and  will  reunite  at  the  village  of  Romar, 


278  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

five  miles  in  the  rear.  If  we  find,  as  we  near  it,  that  the 
French  are  in  possession,  we  will  halt,  and  I  will  send  orders 
to  the  second  regiment  as  to  what  is  to  be  done.  If  the  force 
is  not  too  great  we  will  attack  them  at  night." 

"  How  will  you  know  where  we  shall  be,  sir?  "  Macwitty 
said. 

"  I  have  arranged  with  Colonel  Herrara  that  when  you  halt 
you  shall  light  two  fires  a  short  distance  from  each  other.  I 
will  reply  by  lighting  one,  and  the  fires  are  then  to  be  extin- 
guished." 

This  being  arranged,  Terence  went  down  and  applied  a 
match  to  the  train,  and  then  retired  at  a  run.  Three  minutes 
later  there  was  a  heavy  explosion,  rocks  flew  high  in  the  air, 
and  when  the  smoke  cleared  away,  a  cheer  from  the  hillside 
told  that  the  explosion  had  been  successful.  Terence  returned 
to  the  bridge ;  a  considerable  portion  of  the  arch  had  been 
blown  away,  and  putting  fifty  men  to  work,  the  gap  was  soon 
carried  across  the  road  and  widened,  so  that  there  was  a  chasm 
twelve  feet  across.  The  parties  who  were  to  man  the  breast- 
works were  now  posted.  Terence  himself  took  the  command 
here.  The  defenders  consisted  of  a  company  of  Bull's  battalion. 

Half  an  hour  later  a  deep  sound  was  heard,  and  as  it  grew 
louder  the  head  of  a  column  of  cavalry  was  seen  approaching. 
The  whole  of  the  force  on  the  hillsides  were  hidden  behind 
rocks  or  brushwood  ;  not  a  head  was  shown  above  the  breast- 
works. The  cavalry,  however,  halted,  and  an  officer  with  four 
men  rode  forward.  When  within  fifty  yards  of  the  bridge  a 
volley  of  twenty  muskets  flashed  out  from  the  work  behind  it. 
The  officer  and  three  men  fell,  the  other  galloped  back  to  the 
main  body.  He  had  seen  nothing  beyond  the  fact  that  there 
was  a  breastwork  across  the  road,  and  Franceschi,  thinking 
that  he  had  but  a  small  force  of  peasants  in  front  of  him,  or- 
dered a  squadron  to  charge,  and  clear  the  obstacle. 


IN   THE   PASSES  279 

As  before,  they  were  allowed  to  approach  to  within  fifty 
yards  of  the  bridge,  when  from  the  breastwork  in  front,  and 
the  two  side  redoubts  a  storm  of  musketry  was  poured  into 
them.  The  effect  was  terrible  ;  the  head  of  the  squadron  was 
swept  away,  but  a  few  men  charged  forward  until  close  to  the 
break  in  the  bridge.  Most  of  these  fell,  but  a  few  galloped 
back,  and  the  remains  of  the  squadron  then  trotted  off  in  good 
order. 

No  further  movement  took  place  for  an  hour,  and  then  a 
body  of  infantry,  some  two  thousand  strong,  appeared.  As 
they  passed  the  cavalry,  the  first  two  companies  were  thrown 
out  in  skirmishing  order,  and  were  soon  swarming  down  tow- 
ards the  stream.  The  banks  of  this,  although  very  steep,  were 
not  impassable  by  infantry,  and  the  defenders  of  the  two  side 
redoubts  spread  themselves  out  along  the  bank,  and,  as  the 
skirmishers  approached,  opened  fire. 

For  a  time  the  rattle  of  firearms  was  incessant.  When  the 
main  body  of  French  infantry  had,  as  their  commander 
thought,  ascertained  the  strength  of  the  defenders,  they  ad- 
vanced in  solid  order  until  near  the  bridge,  and  then  wheeled 
off  on  either  flank  and  advanced  with  loud  shouts.  A  horn 
was  sounded,  and  from  the  hillsides  near  a  scattering  fire  of 
musketry  opened  at  once.  The  French,  however,  pushed 
forward  without  a  pause.  Terence's  horn  sounded  again,  the 
men  fell  back  from  the  bank,  and  the  whole  company  ran  at 
full  speed  across  the  narrow  valley,  and  took  their  place  with 
their  comrades  on  the  hillside. 

The  French  crossed  the  stream  under  a  heavy  fire,  and, 
dividing  into  two  portions,  prepared  to  assault  both  hills 
simultaneously.  The  combat  was  obstinate,  the  French  suf- 
fered heavily,  but  pushed  their  way  up  unflinchingly.  The 
Portuguese,  encouraged  by  the  shouts  of  their  officers,  held 
their  ground  obstinately,  retreating  only  at  the  sound  of  their 


280  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

horns,  and  renewing  the  combat  a  short  distance  higher  up. 
Being  sheltered  by  the  rocks  behind  which  they  lay,  their  loss 
was  but  trifling  in  comparison  to  that  of  the  French,  who 
were  forced  to  expose  themselves  as  they  advanced,  and  whose 
numbers  dwindled  so  rapidly  that  when  half-way  up  they 
were  on  both  sides  brought  to  a  stand-still,  and  then,  taking 
shelter  behind  the  rocks,  they  maintained  the  contest  on  more 
equal  terms. 

But  by  this  time  a  column  of  4,000  men  was  marching 
down  to  the  stream,  and,  dividing  like  the  first,  climbed  the 
hills.  The  Portuguese  now  fell  back  more  rapidly,  their  fire 
slackened,  and  the  French,  with  loud  shouts,  pressed  up  the 
hill.  Presently  the  resistance  ceased  altogether,  and,  firing  as 
they  advanced  at  the  flying  figures,  of  whom  they  caught  an 
occasional  glimpse,  the  French  pressed  forward  as  rapidly  as 
the  nature  of  the  ground  would  permit,  cheering  loudly.  At 
last  they  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  the  leaders  paused 
in  doubt  as  they  saw  before  them  some  eleven  or  twelve  hun- 
dred men  drawn  up  in  line  four  deep  at  a  distance  of  fifty 
yards.  Every  moment  added  to  the  number  of  the  French, 
and  as  they  arrived  their  officers  tried  to  form  them  into  order. 
When  their  numbers  about  equalled  those  of  the  Portuguese, 
two  heavy  volleys  were  poured  into  them,  and  then,  with  loud 
shouts,  the  Portuguese  rushed  at  them  with  levelled  bayonets. 

The  charge  was  irresistible.  The  French  were  hurled  over 
the  crest  and  went  down  the  hill,  carrying  confusion  and 
dismay  among  those  climbing  up.  The  Portuguese  pressed 
them  hotly,  giving  them  no  time  to  rally,  and  forcing  them 
down  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill  without  a  check.  Then  at  the 
signal  they  fell  back  to  the  post  that  they  had  held  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fight.  The  success  was  equal  on  both  hillsides, 
and  the  regiments  cheered  each  other's  victory  with  shouts 
which  rose  high  above  the  roar  of  musketry.  With  their 


IN  THE   PASSES  281 

usual  discipline,  the  French  speedily  rallied,  in  spite  of  the 
heavy  fire  that  from  both  sides  swept  their  ranks,  and  they 
prepared,  when  joined  by  another  regiment  which  was  ap- 
proaching at  the  double  to  their  assistance,  to  renew  the  as- 
sault. 

Terence  saw  that,  this  time,  the  odds  would  be  too  great  to 
withstand.  His  horn  sounded  the  retreat,  and  the  Portuguese 
turned  to  make  their  way  up  the  hill  just  as  a  French  battery 
opened  fire.  Sheltered  among  the  rocks,  the  infantry  below 
were  unconscious  of  the  movement,  for  on  either  side  a  com- 
pany had  been  left  to  continue  their  fire  until  the  main  body 
gained  the  top  of  the  hill,  when  they  too  were  summoned  by 
the  horns  to  fall  back.  The  wounded  had  been  all  taken  up 
the  hill,  and  were  laid  in  blankets  and  carried  off  by  their 
comrades.  As  the  two  regiments  marched  away  from  the 
crest  of  the  defile  the  soldiers  were  in  the  highest  spirits.  They 
had  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  a  French  force  of  three  times 
their  own  strength,  and  they  greeted  Terence  and  Bull,  as 
they  rode  together  along  the  column,  with  enthusiastic 
cheers. 

The  wounded,  which  in  the  first  battalion  numbered  forty- 
three,  were  despatched  with  a  party  a  hundred  strong  to  a 
village  four  miles  away  among  the  mountains,  and  the  regi- 
ment marched  on  until  it  reached  the  point  agreed  upon. 

Two  men  were  sent  forward  to  reconnoitre  the  village,  and 
returned  with  the  report  that  it  had  already  been  occupied  by 
a  very  strong  force  of  French  cavalry.  Half  an  hour  later  two 
wreaths  of  smoke  rose  on  the  opposite  hill.  Sticks  had  been 
gathered  in  readiness,  and  the  answering  signal  was  at  once 
made.  Two  minutes  later  the  smoke  ceased  to  rise  on  either 
side.  Terence  now  received  the  reports  of  the  captains  of  the 
six  companies,  and  found  that  fifteen  men  had  been  killed, 
and  that  his  strength  was  thus  reduced  by  fifty-eight.  The 


WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

men  were  now  told  that  they  could  lie  down,  the  companies 
keeping  together  so  as  to  be  ready  for  instant  action. 

Trifling  wounds,  of  which  there  were  some  two  or  three  and 
twenty,  were  then  attended  to  and  bandaged.  Some  of  these 
were  quite  serious  enough  to  have  warranted  the  men  falling 
out,  but  the  delight  and  pride  they  felt  at  their  success  had 
been  so  great  that  they  had  refused  to  be  taken  off  with  their 
disabled  comrades.  Terence  made  a  round  of  the  troops  and 
addressed  a  few  words  to  each  company,  praising  their  con- 
duct, and  thanking  them  for  the  readiness  and  quickness  with 
which  they  had  obeyed  his  orders. 

"  You  see,  my  lads,"  he  said,  "  what  can  be  done  by  dis- 
cipline. Had  it  not  been  for  the  steady  drill  you  have  had 
ever  since  we  marched,  we  could  not  have  hoped  to  oppose 
the  French,  and  I  should  not  have  ventured  to  have  done  so. 
Now,  you  see,  you  have  proved  that  you  are  as  brave  as  the 
enemy,  and  not  only  have  you  beaten  them  with  heavy  loss, 
but  the  effect  of  this  fight  will  be  to  render  them  more  cautious 
in  future  and  slower  in  their  movements,  and  the  news  of  the 
blow  you  have  struck  will  inspirit  your  countrymen  every- 
where. ' ' 

Having  nothing  else  to  do  until  after  darkness  fell,  Terence, 
after  finishing  his  round,  sat  down  and  added  an  account  of 
the  fight  to  the  report  he  had  written  up  at  their  last  halting- 
place.  This  was  written  in  duplicate,  one  copy  being  in- 
tended for  General  Cradock,  and  the  other  for  the  Portuguese 
authorities  at  Oporto.  Outposts  had  been  thrown  out  towards 
the  village  as  soon  as  they  halted,  and  after  opening  their 
haversacks,  eating  a  meal,  and  quenching  their  thirst  at  a  little 
rivulet  that  ran  down  to  the  village,  the  men  lay  down  to 
sleep,  tired  with  their  long  night's  march  and  the  excitement 
of  the  battle. 

Terence  was  no  exception  to  the  general  rule,  for  although 


IN    THE    PASSES  283 

he  had  had  his  horse,  yet  for  the  greater  part  of  the  distance 
he  had  marched  on  foot,  as  the  ruggedness  of  the  ground 
traversed  had  in  most  places  been  too  great  to  travel  in  safety 
on  horseback  in  the  dark.  When  night  fell  all  were  on  their 
feet  again,  refreshed  by  a  long  sleep.  Two  men  were  now 
sent  down  to  reconnoitre  the  village  again.  They  reported 
that  it  was  still  occupied  by  the  cavalry.  The  infantry,  as 
they  could  see  by  the  fires  along  the  road,  had  bivouacked 
there,  and  one  regiment  at  least  had  passed  through  the  village 
and  had  occupied  the  road  ahead. 

Terence  had  already  written  out  his  instructions  to  Herrara 
in  triplicate,  and  three  men  were  despatched  with  these.  They 
were  warned  to  be  extremely  careful,  for  the  men  who  had  first 
been  sent,  had  reported  that  the  French  had  posted  sentries 
out  on  their  flanks.  One  of  the  messengers  was  to  make  a  long 
detour  to  cross  the  road  half  a  mile  ahead  of  the  French, 
and  then  to  make  his  way  along  on  the  opposite  hillside  to 
the  spot  where  Herrara  was  posted.  The  other  two  were  to 
make  their  way  as  best  they  could  through  the  village.  The 
pieces  of  paper  they  carried  were  rolled  up  into  little  balls, 
and  they  were  ordered  that,  if  noticed  and  an  alarm  given, 
these  were  at  once  to  be  swallowed. 

Soon  after  ten  o'clock  the  regiment  formed  up.  Terence 
had  given  detailed  orders  to  the  captain  of  each  company. 
These  were  instructed  to  call  up  their  men  twenty  at  a  time, 
and  to  explain  their  orders  to  them,  so  that  every  man  should 
know  exactly  what  to  do.  No  sound  had  been  heard  in  the 
village,  and  Terence  felt  sure  that  Herrara  must  have  received 
his  orders,  and  at  a  quarter  past  ten  he  with  one  company 
moved  slowly  down  towards  the  village ;  Bull,  with  the  main 
body  of  the  force,  marching  westward  along  the  hills.  Six 
men  had  volunteered  for  the  service  of  silencing  the  French 
outposts,  and  these,  leaving  their  muskets  behind,  stole  for- 


284  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

ward  in  advance  of  the  company,  which  halted  at  some  little 
distance  from  the  French  centre. 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  returned.  Eight  French  sen- 
tries had  been  surprised  and  killed,  the  Portuguese  crawling 
up  to  them  until  near  enough  to  spring  upon  and  stab  them 
without  the  slightest  alarm  being  given.  The  company  now 
moved  silently  forward  again  until  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
the  village,  when  they  halted  until  the  church  clock  struck 
eleven.  Then  they  rushed  down  into  the  village.  As  they 
entered  it  shots  were  fired,  and  an  outcry  rose  from  the  other 
side,  showing  that  Herrara  had  managed  matters  as  well  as 
they  had.  The  surprise  was  complete ;  the  street  was  full  of 
horses,  while  the  soldiers  had  taken  shelter  in  the  houses.  A 
scene  of  the  wildest  confusion  ensued.  The  horses  were  shot, 
for  it  was  most  important  to  cripple  this  most  formidable  arm 
of  the  French  service,  and  the  men  were  attacked  as  they 
poured  out  of  the  houses. 

Bull,  with  a  hundred  men,  made  his  way  straight  to  the 
upper  end  of  the  village  and  repelled  the  desperate  attempts 
of  a  squadron  of  horse  that  were  posted  beyond  it  in  readiness 
for  action,  to  break  through  to  the  assistance  of  their  com- 
rades, while  Terence  and  Herrara,  each  with  a  hundred  men, 
held  the  road  at  the  lower  end  of  the  village  to  check  an  in- 
fantry attack  there.  It  was  not  long  before  it  was  delivered. 
The  French  infantry,  disciplined  veterans,  accustomed  to 
surprises,  had  sprung  to  their  feet  when  the  first  shot  was 
fired,  and  forming  instantly  into  column,  came  on  at  a  run, 
led  by  their  officers.  Terence,  with  fifty  men,  four  deep, 
barred  the  way  across  the  road  ;  the  rest  of  his  men  were  sta- 
tioned along  the  high  ground  flanking  it  on  one  side,  while 
Herrara  with  his  hundred  flanked  the  opposite  side. 

As  the  French  came  on  the  Portuguese  on  the  high  ground 
remained  silent  and  unnoticed,  but  when  a  flash  of  fire  ran 


IN    THE    PASSES  285 

across  the  road  and  a  deadly  volley  was  poured  in  upon  the 
enemy,  those  on  the  flanks  at  once  opened  fire.  For  a  mo- 
ment the  column  paused  in  surprise,  and  then  opened  fire  at 
their  unseen  assailants,  whose  fire  was  causing  such  gaps  in 
the  ranks.  The  colonel  and  several  other  officers  who  had 
been  at  its  head  had  fallen ;  in  the  din  no  orders  could  be 
heard,  and  for  some  minutes  the  head  of  the  column  wasted 
away  under  the  rain  of  bullets.  Then  a  general  officer  dashed 
up,  and  another  body  of  Frenchmen  came  along  at  a  run. 
Terence's  horn  rang  out  loudly ;  the  signal  was  repeated  in 
the  village,  the  fire  instantly  ceased,  and  when  the  French 
column  rushed  into  the  place  not  a  foe  was  to  be  seen,  but 
the  street  was  choked  up  by  dead  horses  and  men. 

These  reinforcements  did  not  pause,  but  making  their  way 
over  the  obstacles  pressed  on  to  where  a  roar  of  fire  in  front 
showed  how  hotly  the  advance-guard  was  engaged.  Here  the 
surprise  had  been  rather  less  complete.  Some  of  the  outposts 
had  given  the  alarm,  and  the  French  were  on  their  feet  before, 
after  pouring  terrible  volleys  into  them,  a  thousand  men  fell 
upon  them  on  either  side.  Great  numbers  of  the  French  fell 
under  the  fire,  and  the  long  line  was  broken  up  into  sections 
by  the  impetuous  rush  of  the  Portuguese.  Nevertheless,  the 
French  soldiers  hung  together,  and  the  combat  raged  desper- 
ately until  the  head  of  the  relieving  column  came  up.  Then, 
as  suddenly  as  before,  the  attack  ceased.  Not  a  gun  was 
fired,  and,  as  if  by  magic,  their  assailants  stole  away  into  the 
darkness,  while  the  French  opened  a  random  fire  after  them. 

An  hour  later  the  two  Portuguese  regiments  united  on  the 
road  two  miles  in  advance  of  the  village.  Their  loss  had 
been  eighty-four  killed  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  wounded,  of 
which  seventy  were  serious  cases.  These  were,  as  before, 
sent  off  to  be  cared  for  in  the  mountain  villages.  The 
French  loss,  as  Terence  afterward  heard,  had  been  very  heavy ; 


286  WITH    MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

three  hundred  of  the  cavalry  had  been  killed,  and  upwards  of 
four  hundred  infantry.  Great  was  the  enthusiasm  when  the 
two  regiments  met,  and  after  a  short  halt  marched  away  to- 
gether into  the  hills  and  encamped  in  a  wood  two  miles  from 
the  road. 

"What  next,  Generalissimo?"  Herrara,  whose  left  arm 
had  been  broken  by  a  bullet,  asked. 

' '  I  think  that  we  have  done  enough  for  the  present, ' '  Ter- 
ence said.  "  We  will  leave  it  to  the  rest  of  the  army  to  do 
a  little  fighting  now.  We  have  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded, 
some  two  hundred  men,  and  I  don't  wish  to  see  the  whole 
force  dwindle  away.  I  propose  that  we  do  not  go  near  Braga. 
I  have  no  idea  of  putting  myself  under  the  command  of  Friere ; 
I  have  seen  enough  of  him  already.  So  we  will  travel  by 
by-roads  till  we  get  near  Oporto,  then  we  will  find  out  how 
matters  stand  there.  My  own  idea  is  that  when  the  French 
army  approaches,  the  Junta's  courage  will  ooze  out  of  its  finger 
ends,  and  that  the  50,000  peasants,  which  it  calls  an  army, 
will  bolt  at  the  first  attack  of  the  French.  So,  as  I  don't  mean 
to  be  trapped  there,  we  will  rest  on  our  laurels  until  we  see 
how  matters  go." 

It  was  well  for  the  corps  that  Terence  abstained  from  join- 
ing the  army  at  Braga.  As  the  French  entered  the  pass  of 
Benda  Nova,  the  peasants  rushed  furiously  down  upon  them. 
Many  broke  into  the  French  columns,  and  fighting  desper- 
ately, were  slain.  The  survivors  made  their  way  up  the  hill- 
side, and  then  making  a  detour,  fell  upon  the  rear  of  the  col- 
umn, killed  fifty  stragglers  and  plundered  the  baggage.  This 
spontaneous  action  of  the  peasants  was  the  only  attempt  made 
to  bar  the  advance  of  the  French,  and  Friere  permitted  them 
to  pass  through  defile  after  defile  without  firing  a  shot.  His 
conduct  aroused  the  fury  of  his  troops,  and  the  feeling  was 
fanned  by  agents  of  the  bishop,  who  had  now  become  jealous 


IN   THE   PASSES  287 

of  him,  and  his  men  rushing  upon  him  dragged  him  from  a 
house  in  which  he  had  taken  refuge,  and  slew  him — a  fit  end 
to  the  career  of  a  man  who  had  proved  himself  as  unpatriotic 
as  he  was  incapable. 

On  the  1 8th  Soult  arrived  near  Braga,  and  the  Portuguese, 
who  were  now  commanded  by  Eben,  a  German  officer  in  the 
British  service,  drew  up  to  meet  him.  The  French  began 
their  advance  on  the  2oth,  and  half  an  hour  later  the  Portu- 
guese army  was  a  mob  of  fugitives.  The  vanquished  army 
lost  4,000  men  and  all  their  guns,  400  only  being  taken  pris- 
oners ;  the  rest  dispersed  in  all  directions,  carrying  tales  of 
the  invincibility  of  the  French.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
stout  resistance  offered  by  3,000  men,  placed  on  a  position 
in  the  rear  commanding  the  road,  which  checked  the  pursuit 
of  the  cavalry  and  enabled  the  fugitives  to  make  off,  scarce 
a  man  of  the  Portuguese  would  have  escaped  to  tell  the  tale. 

Terence  had  approached  Oporto,  and  encamped  in  a  large 
wood,  when  the  fugitives  brought  him  news  of  the  crushing 
defeat  that  they  had  suffered.  The  soldiers  were  so  furious 
when  they  heard  of  the  disgraceful  rout,  that  Terence  and 
Herrara  had  difficulty  in  preventing  them  from  killing  the 
fugitives.  The  result  strengthened  his  position.  The  troops 
on  arriving  at  their  present  camping-place  were  eager  to  be 
led  into  Oporto.  Terence  and  Herrara  had  talked  the  matter 
over  several  times,  and  agreed  that  such  a  step  might  be  fatal. 
Standing,  as  this  town  did,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  the 
only  means  of  leaving  it  was  the  bridge  of  boats,  and  if  any- 
thing happened  to  this  all  retreat  would  be  cut  off. 

The  defeat  at  Braga  at  once  confirmed  their  opinion  that 
the  army  of  peasants  that  the  bishop  had  gathered  round 
Oporto  would  be  able  to  make  but  little  resistance  to  the 
French  attack. 

"It  would  be  terrible,"  Herrara  said;   "  50,000  fugitives, 


288  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

and  a  great  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  all  strug- 
gling to  cross  the  bridge,  with  the  French  cavalry  pressing  on 
their  rear,  and  the  French  artillery  playing  upon  them.  It  is 
not  to  be  thought  of." 

The  troops,  however,  had  been  full  of  confidence  in  the 
valour  of  their  countrymen,  and  from  their  own  success  against 
the  French  believed  that  the  army  at  Braga  would  certainly 
defeat  Soult,  and  there  had  been  some  dissatisfaction  that  they 
had  not  been  permitted  to  take  part  in  the  victory.  The 
news  brought  by  the  fugitives  at  once  dissipated  the  hopes 
that  they  had  entertained.  They  saw  that  their  commander 
had  acted  wisely  in  refusing  to  join  the  army  there,  and  their 
feeling  of  contempt  for  the  undisciplined  ordenancas  and 
peasants  equalled  the  confidence  they  had  before  reposed  in 
them.  Terence  ordered  the  two  regiments  to  form  into  a 
hollow  square  and  addressed  them. 

"  Soldiers,"  he  said,  "  I  know  that  it  was  a  disappointment 
to  you  that  I  did  not  take  you  to  Braga.  Had  I  done  so,  not 
one  of  you  would  have  escaped,  for  when  the  rest  fled  like  a 
flock  of  sheep  you  could  not  alone  have  withstood  the  attack 
of  the  whole  French  army.  I  know  that  you  wish  to  enter 
Oporto.  I  have  withstood  that  wish,  and  now  you  must  see 
that  I  was  right  in  doing  so.  The  peasants  gathered  in  its 
defence  are  even  less  disciplined  than  those  at  Braga,  and 
Soult  will,  after  two  or  three  minutes'  fighting,  capture  the 
place.  Were  you  there  you  could  not  prevent  such  a  result. 
You  might  hold  the  spot  at  which  you  were  stationed,  but  if 
the  French  broke  in  at  any  other  point  you  would  be  sur- 
rounded and  killed  to  a  man.  What  use  would  that  be  to 
Portugal?  You  can  do  more  good  by  living  and  fighting 
another  day. 

"  Even  if  you  should  fall  back  with  the  other  fugitives, 
what  chance  of  safety  would  there  be  ?  You  know  that  there 


IN    THE    PASSES  289 

is  but  one  bridge  of  boats  across  the  river,  and  that  will  soon 
be  blocked  by  a  panic-stricken  crowd,  and  your  chance  of 
crossing  would  be  slight  indeed.  The  men  who  fought  at 
Braga,  those  men  who  will  fight  before  Oporto,  are  no  more 
cowards  than  you  are,  and  had  they  gained  as  much  discipline 
as  you  have,  I  would  march  down  with  you  at  once  and  join 
in  the  defence.  But  a  mob  cannot  withstand  disciplined 
troops.  When  the  Portuguese  have  learned  to  be  soldiers, 
they  may  fight  with  a  hope  of  success ;  until  then  it  is  tak- 
ing them  to  slaughter  to  set  them  in  line  of  battle  against  the 
French.  Soult  may  be  here  in  twenty-four  hours,  therefore  I 
propose  to  march  you  down  to  the  river  above  Oporto.  We 
are  sure  to  find  boats  there,  and  we  will  cross  at  once  to  the 
other  side  and  encamp  near  the  suburb  at  the  south  end  of 
the  bridge,  and  when  the  fugitives  pour  over  we  will  take  our 
station  there,  cover  their  retreat,  and  prevent  the  French  from 
crossing  in  pursuit." 

A  murmur  of  satisfaction  broke  from  the  soldiers  and 
swelled  into  a  shout.  Soon  after  evening  fell  the  corps 
marched  from  the  wood,  and  two  hours  later  came  down  on 
the  bank  of  the  Douro.  As  Terence  anticipated,  there  were 
plenty  of  fishermen's  boats  hauled  up,  and  the  regiments 
passed  over  by  companies.  By  three  in  the  morning  all  were 
across,  and  by  five  they  encamped  in  a  wood  beyond  the 
steep  hill  rising  behind  the  Villa  Nova  suburb,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river.  As  soon  as  he  had  seen  the  soldiers  settled 
Terence  borrowed  the  clothes  of  one  of  the  men,  and  putting 
these  on  instead  of  his  uniform,  he  sent  for  Bull  and  Mac- 
witty,  and  the  two  soldiers  soon  arrived.  They  looked  in 
astonishment  at  their  officer. 

"  I  am  going  into  the  town,"  he  said,  "  partly  to  judge  for 
myself  of  the  state  of  things  there,  and  partly  on  a  little 
private  business  of  my  own.  It  is  possible  that  I  may  get 
'9 


290  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

into  trouble.  I  hope  that  I  shall  not  do  so,  but  it  is  as  well  to 
be  prepared  for  any  emergency  that  might  happen.  If,  then, 
I  do  not  return,  you  are  to  look  to  Colonel  Herrara  for  orders. 
When  the  French  enter  Oporto,  which  I  am  certain  they  will 
do  as  soon  as  they  attack  it,  you  may  gather  your  men  at  this 
end  of  the  bridge,  cover  the  retreat,  and  repulse  all  efforts  of 
the  French  to  cross.  As  soon  as  those  attempts  have  ceased, 
you  will  march  with  the  two  regiments  for  Coimbra,  and 
report  yourselves  to  the  officer  commanding  there.  Here  are 
my  despatches  to  the  general,  in  which  I  have  done  full  justice 
to  your  bravery  and  your  conduct.  Here  is  also  a  note  to 
the  officer  commanding  at  Coimbra.  I  have  spoken  to  him 
about  your  conduct,  and  have  asked  him  to  allow  you  to  con- 
tinue with  the  Portuguese  until  an  order  is  received  from  Sir 
John  Cradock.  I  have  given  Colonel  Herrara  a  duplicate 
of  my  despatches  and  official  orders,  in  case  you  should  be 
killed." 

"  Cannot  we  go  with  you,  sir?  "  Bull  asked. 

"I  don't  think  so,  Bull.  Dress  as  you  might,  you  could 
hardly  be  taken  for  anything  but  an  Englishman.  Your 
walk  and  your  complexion,  to  say  nothing  of  your  hair, 
would  betray  you  both  at  once.  The  first  person  who  hap- 
pened to  address  you  would  discover  that  you  were  not 
natives,  and  the  chances  are  he  would  denounce  you,  and 
that  you  would  be  torn  to  pieces  before  you  could  offer 
any  explanation.  Now,  I  think  that  I  can  pass  readily 
enough.  The  wind  and  rough  weather  have  brought  me  to 
nearly  the  right  colour,  and  I  know  how  to  speak  Portu- 
guese well  enough  to  ask  any  question  without  exciting 
suspicion." 

"But  why  not  take  two  of  the  men  with  you?"  Mac- 
witty  said.  "  They  could  do  any  talking  that  was  necessary  ; 
and  should  anyone  suggest  that  you  are  not  a  native,  they 


IN  THE   PASSES  291 

could  declare  that  you  were  a  comrade  from  their  own 
village." 

Bull  strongly  approved  of  the  suggestion,  and  Terence, 
though  in  some  respects  he  would  rather  have  been  alone,  at 
last  agreed  to  it. 

"  They  may  as  well  take  their  arms ;  not  for  use,  but  to 
give  them  the  appearance  of  two  men  from  the  camp  who  had 
come  down  to  make  purchases  in  the  city." 

Daylight  was  just  breaking  as  the  three  crossed  the  bridge 
of  boats  into  the  town,  and  passed  through  it  up  the  hill  to 
the  great  camp  that  had  been  established  there.  It  covered  a 
large  extent  of  ground,  and  contained  tents  sufficient  for  the 
whole  of  the  50,000  men  assembled.  A  short  distance  away 
was  the  line  of  intrenchments  on  which  the  peasants  had  been 
for  some  weeks  engaged.  They  consisted  of  forts  crowning 
a  succession  of  rounded  hills,  and  connected  by  earthen  ram- 
parts, loopholed  houses,  ditches,  and  an  abattis  of  felled  trees. 
No  less  than  two  hundred  guns  were  in  place  on  the  forts.  It 
was  a  position  that  two  thousand  good  troops  should  have 
been  able  to  hold  against  an  army. 

"It  is  a  strong  position,"  Terence  said  to  the  two  men 
with  him. 

"Yes,  the  French  can  never  pass  that,"  one  of  them 
said,  exultingly. 

"That  we  shall  see.  They  ought  not  to,  certainly,  but 
whether  they  will  or  not  is  another  matter." 

They  wandered  about  for  a  couple,  of  hours.  Once  one  of 
the  Portuguese  joined  a  group  of  peasants,  and  learned  from 
them  something  of  the  state  of  things  in  the  town,  represent- 
ing that  they  had  but  just  arrived. 

"  You  are  lucky.  You  will  see  how  we  shall  destroy  the 
French  army.  Our  guns  will  sweep  them  away.  Every  man 
in  the  town  is  full  of  confidence,  and  the  traitors  are  all 


WITH   MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

trembling  in  their  houses.  When  the  news  of  the  business  at 
Braga  came  yesterday,  and  we  learned  the  treachery  of  our 
generals,  the  people  rose,  dragged  fifteen  suspected  men  of 
rank  from  the  prison  and  killed  them.  There  is  not  a  day 
that  some  of  these  traitors  are  not  rooted  out." 

"  That  is  well,"  the  other  said ;  "it  is  traitors  that  have 
brought  us  to  this  pass." 

"  You  will  see  how  we  shall  fight  when  the  French  come. 
The  bishop  himself  has  promised  to  come  out  in  his  robes  to 
give  us  his  blessing,  and  to  call  down  the  wrath  of  heaven 
on  the  French  infidels." 

After  having  finished  his  survey  of  the  line,  Terence  re- 
turned to  the  city,  and  following  the  instructions  that  he  had 
received  as  to  the  situation  of  the  convent  at  Santa  Maria,  he 
was  not  long  in  finding  it.  It  was  a  massive  building;  the 
windows  of  the  two  lower  stories  were  closely  barred.  He 
could  not  see  any  way  of  opening  communications  with  his 
cousin,  or  of  devising  any  way  of  escape.  He,  however, 
thought  that  it  might  possibly  be  managed  if  he  could  send 
in  a  rope  to  her  and  a  pulley,  with  means  of  fixing  it ;  in  that 
way  he  could  lower  her  to  the  ground.  But  all  this  would 
be  very  difficult  to  manage,  even  if  he  had  ample  time  at  his 
disposal,  and  in  the  present  circumstances  it  was  altogether 
impossible.  He  stared  at  the  house  for  a  long  time  in  silence, 
but  no  idea  came  to  him,  and  it  was  with  a  feeling  of  hope- 
lessness that  he  recrossed  the  bridge  and  rejoined  the  troops. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  back,  sir,"  Bull  said,  heartily.  "  I 
have  been  in  a  funk  all  this  morning  that  something  might 
happen  to  you." 

"  It  has  all  gone  off  quietly.  I  will  now  tell  you  and  Mac- 
witty  what  my  business  here  is.  I  may  need  your  help,  and 
it  is  a  matter  in  which  none  of  the  Portuguese  would  dare  to 
offer  me  any  assistance." 


IN   THE   PASSES  293 

"  I  think  they  would  do  maist  anything  for  you,  sir,"  Mac- 
witty  said.  "  They  have  that  confidence  in  you,  they  would 
go  through  fire  and  water  if  you  were  to  lead  them." 

"They  would  do  almost  anything  but  what  I  want  done 
now.  I  have  a  cousin,  a  young  lady,  who  is  an  heiress  to  a 
large  fortune.  Her  father  is  dead,  and  her  mother,  a  wealthy 
land-owner,  has  had  her  shut  up  in  a  convent,  where  they  are 
trying  to  force  her,  against  her  will,  to  become  a  nun.  She 
is  kept  a  prisoner,  on  bread  and  water,  until  she  consents  to 
sign  a  paper  surrendering  all  her  rights.  Now,  what  I  want 
to  do  is  to  get  her  out.  It  cannot  be  done  by  force;  that  is 
out  of  the  question.  It  is  a  strong  building,  and  even  if  the 
men  would  consent  to  attack  a  convent,  which  they  would 
not  do,  all  the  town  would  be  up,  and  we  should  have  the 
whole  populace  on  us.  So  that  force  is  out  of  the  question. 
Now,  the  French  are  sure  to  take  the  place.  When  they  do, 
there  will  be  an  awful  scene.  They  will  be  furious  at  the 
resistance  they  have  met  with,  and  at  the  losses  that  they 
have  suffered.  They  will  be  maddened,  and  reasonably,  by 
the  frightful  tortures  inflicted  upon  prisoners  who  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  and  you  may  be  sure  that 
for  some  time  no  quarter  will  be  given.  The  soldiers  will  be 
let  loose  upon  the  city,  and  there  will  be  no  more  respect  for 
a  convent  than  a  dwelling-house.  You  may  imagine  how 
frightfully  anxious  I  am.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  French 
I  would  have  let  the  matter  stand  until  our  army  entered 
Oporto,  but  as  it  is,  I  must  try  and  do  something;  and, 
as  far  as  I  can  see,  the  only  chance  will  be  in  the  frightful 
confusion  that  will  take  place  when  the  French  enter  the 
town." 

"  We  will  stand  by  you,  Mr.  O'Connor,  you  may  be  sure. 
You  have  only  got  to  tell  us  what  to  do,  and  you  may  trust 
us  to  do  it." 


294  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

Macwitty,  who  was  a  man  of  few  words,  nodded.  "Mi. 
O'Connor  knows  that,"  he  said. 

"  Thank  you  both,"  Terence  said,  heartily.  "I  must  think 
out  my  plan,  and  when  I  have  decided  upon  it  I  will  let  you 
know." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AN    ESCAPE 

DURING  his  visit  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  Terence  had 
seen,  with  great  satisfaction,  that  a  powerful  battery, 
mounting  fifty  guns,  had  been  erected  on  the  heights  of  Villa 
Nova,  and  its  fire,  he  thought,  should  effectually  bar  any 
attempt  of  the  French  to  cross  the  bridge. 

It  would  indeed  be  madness  for  them  to  attempt  such  an 
operation,  as  the  boats  supporting  the  bridge  could  be  in- 
stantly sunk  by  the  concentrated  fire  of  the  battery.  He  said 
nothing  of  this  on  his  return  to  camp,  as  it  might  have  given 
rise  to  fresh  agitation  among  the  men,  were  they  to  be  aware 
that  their  presence  was  not  really  required  for  the  defence  of 
the  bridge.  After  a  short  stay  in  camp  he  again  went  down 
into  the  town,  with  the  idea  that  he  was  more  likely  to  hit 
upon  some  plan  of  action  there  than  he  would  be  in  the  camp. 

The  two  men  again  went  with  him.  Another  prolonged 
stare  at  the  convent  failed  to  inspire  him  with  any  scheme 
that  was  in  the  slightest  degree  practicable.  He  fell  back 
upon  the  conclusion  he  had  mentioned  to  the  two  troopers, 
that  the  only  chance  would  be  to  take  advantage  of  the  wild 
confusion  that  would  prevail  upon  the  entry  of  the  French. 
The  difficulty  that  presented  itself  to  him  was,  that  the  nuns 
would  be  so  appalled  by  the  approach  of  the  French  that  it 


AN   ESCAPE  295 

would  be  unlikely  that  they  would  think  of  leaving  the 
protection — such  as  it  was — of  the  convent,  and  would  shrink 
from  encountering  the  wild  turmoil  in  the  streets.  Even  if 
they  did  so,  it  would  be  too  late  for  them  to  have  any  chance 
of  getting  across  the  bridge,  which  would  be  thronged  to  a 
point  of  suffocation  by  the  mob  of  fugitives,  and  might  read- 
ily be  destroyed  by  one  or  two  of  the  boats  being  sunk  by 
the  French  artillery. 

The  one  thing  evident  was,  that  he  must  arrange  to  get  a 
boat  and  to  station  it  at  the  end  of  some  street  going  down  to 
the  river  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  convent.  That  part 
of  the  city  being  some  distance  from  the  bridge,  the  streets 
would  soon  be  deserted,  and  there  would  not  be  a  wild  rush 
of  fugitives  to  the  boat,  which  would  be  the  case  were  it  to  be 
lying  alongside  anywhere  near  the  bridge.  Upon  the  other 
hand,  it  would  be  less  likely  that  the  nuns  would  leave  the 
convent  if  all  was  comparatively  quiet  in  that  neighbourhood, 
and  did  they  do  so  it  would  be  difficult  in  the  extreme  to 
carry  off  his  cousin  from  their  midst,  ignorant,  too,  as  he  was 
of  her  appearance.  After  looking  for  some  time  at  the  con- 
vent, he  returned  to  the  more  busy  part  of  the  town.  Pres- 
ently he  heard  a  great  shouting ;  every  window  opened,  and 
he  saw  a  crowd  coming  along  the  street.  By  the  candles, 
banners,  crucifixes,  and  canopies  it  was  evident  that  it  was  a 
religious  procession.  He  was  about  to  turn  off  into  a  side 
street  when  the  thought  struck  him  that  possibly  it  was  the 
bishop  himself  on  his  way  up  to  the  camp ;  therefore  he  re- 
mained in  his  place,  doffed  his  hat,  and,  like  all  around  him, 
went  down  on  one  knee. 

The  procession  was  a  long  and  stately  one,  and  in  the 
midst,  walking  beneath  a  canopy,  came  the  bishop  himself. 
Terence  gazed  at  him  fixedly  in  order  to  impress  on  his  mind 
the  features  of  the  man  whose  ambition  had  cost  Portugal  so 


296  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

dearly,  and  at  whose  instigation  so  much  blood  of  the  most 
honest  and  capable  men  of  the  province  had  been  shed.  The 
face  fully  justified  the  idea  that  he  had  formed  of  the  man. 
The  bishop  was  of  commanding  presence,  and  walked  with 
the  air  of  one  who  was  accustomed  to  see  all  bow  before  him ; 
but  on  the  other  hand,  the  face  bore  traces  of  his  violent 
character.  There  was  a  set  smile  on  his  lips,  but  his  brow  was 
heavy  and  frowning,  while  his  receding  chin  contradicted  the 
strength  of  the  upper  part  of  his  face.  There  was,  too,  a  look 
of  anxiety  and  restlessness  betrayed  by  a  nervous  twitching  of 
the  lips. 

"The  scoundrel  is  a  coward,"  Terence  said  to  himself. 
"He  may  profess  absolute  confidence,  but  I  don't  think  he 
feels  it,  and  I  will  bet  odds  that  he  won't  be  in  the  front 
when  the  time  for  fighting  comes." 

Terence  walked  away  after  the  procession  had  passed. 

"  If  one  could  get  hold  of  the  bishop,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"one  might  get  an  order  on  the  superior  of  the  convent  to 
hand  over  Mary  O'Connor  to  the  bearer,  but  I  don't  see  how 
that  can  possibly  be  managed.  Of  course,  he  is  surrounded 
by  priests  and  officials  all  day,  and  his  palace  will  be  guarded 
by  any  number  of  soldiers,  for  he  must  have  many  enemies. 
There  must  be  scores  of  relatives  of  men  who  have  been  killed 
by  his  orders,  who  would  assassinate  him,  bishop  though  he 
is,  had  they  the  chance.  And  even  if  I  got  an  order — and  it 
seems  to  me  impossible  to  do  so — it  would  not  be  made  out 
in  the  name  of  Mary  O'Connor.  I  know  that  they  change 
their  names  when  they  go  into  nunneries,  and  she  may  be 
Sister  Angela  or  Cecilia,  or  anything  else,  and  I  should  not 
know  in  the  slightest  degree  whether  the  name  he  put  down 
was  the  one  that  she  really  goes  by.  No,  that  idea  is  out  of 
the  question." 

Returning  to  the  camp,  he  held  counsel  with  Herrara.  The 


AN   ESCAPE  297 

latter,  he  knew,  had  none  of  the  bigotry  so  general  among  his 
countrymen.  He  had  before  told  him  about  his  cousin  being 
shut  up  against  her  will,  and  of  the  letter  that  she  had  thrown 
out,  but  had  hitherto  said  nothing  of  his  intention  to  bring 
about  her  escape  if  possible. 

"  I  had  an  idea  that  that  was  what  was  in  your  mind  when 
you  went  off  so  early  this  morning,  O'Connor.  I  have  a  high 
respect  for  the  Church,  but  I  have  no  respect  for  its  abuses. 
And  the  shutting  up  of  a  young  lady,  and  forcing  her  to  take 
the  veil  in  order  to  rob  her  of  her  property,  is  as  hateful  to 
me  as  it  can  be  to  you,  so  that  I  should  have  no  hesitation  in 
aiding  you  in  your  endeavour  to  bring  about  her  escape.  Have 
you  formed  any  plan?  " 

"No;  I  have  thought  it  over  again  and  again,  but  cannot 
think  of  any  scheme." 

"  If  that  is  the  case,  O'Connor,  I  fear  that  it  is  useless  for 
me  to  try  to  do  so ;  you  are  so  full  of  ideas  always,  that  if 
you  cannot  see  your  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  it  is  hopeless  to 
expect  that  I  could  do  so.  If  you  can  contrive  any  plan  I  will 
promise  to  aid  you  in  any  way  you  can  point  out,  but  as  to 
inventing  one,  I  should  never  do  so  if  I  racked  my  brain  ever 
so  much. ' ' 

"  There  must  be  some  way,"  Terence  said.  "  I  used  to  get 
into  all  sorts  of  scrapes  when  I  was  a  boy,  but  found  there  was 
always  some  way  out  of  them,  if  one  could  but  hit  upon  it. 
The  only  thing  that  I  can  think  of,  is  to  carry  her  off  in  the 
confusion  when  the  French  enter  the  town." 

"  I  should  say  that  the  nuns  would  never  think  of  leaving 
their  convent,  O'Connor;  it  is  their  best  hope  of  safety  to 
remain  there." 

"  No  doubt  it  is,  but  the  French  don't  always  respect  the 
convents — very  much  the  contrary,  indeed.  No,  I  don't  think 
that  they  would  go  out  merely  to  rush  into  the  street ;  but 


298  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

they  might  go  out  if  they  thought  they  could  get  over  the 
bridge  before  the  French  arrived." 

"  They  might  do  that,  certainly;  indeed,  it  would  be  the  best 
thing  they  could  do. ' ' 

"  Do  you  think  that  if  one  were  to  dress  up  as  a  priest,  or 
as  one  of  the  bishop's  attendants,  and  to  go  as  from  him  with 
an  order  to  the  lady  superior  to  take  the  nuns  at  once  across 
the  bridge  to  the  convent  on  the  other  side,  she  would  obey  it? ' * 

"  Not  without  some  written  order,"  Herrara  said.  "  The 
bishop  would  naturally  send  someone  who  would  be  known  to 
her,  or  if  he  did  send  a  stranger  he  would  give  him  a  letter  or 
some  token  she  would  recognize ;  otherwise,  she  could  not  know 
that  it  was  his  order." 

"That  is  what  I  was  afraid  of,  Herrara,  but  it  is  what  I 
shall  try,  if  I  can  see  no  other  way.  Indeed,  I  see  only  one 
chance  of  getting  over  the  difficulty.  The  bishop  is  a  tyrant 
of  the  worst  kind.  Now,  as  far  as  I  can  remember,  tyrants  of 
his  sort — that  is  to  say,  tyrants  who  rule  by  working  on  the 
passions  of  the  mob — are  always  cowards.  I  watched  the 
bishop  closely  when  I  saw  him  to-day,  and  I  am  convinced 
he  is  one  also.  Even  in  that  kneeling  crowd  he  could  not 
conceal  it.  There  was  a  nervous  twitching  about  his  lips 
which,  to  my  mind,  showed  that  he  was  in  a  state  of  intense 
anxiety,  and  that  under  all  his  swagger  and  show  of  confidence 
he  was,  nevertheless,  in  a  horrible  state  of  alarm.  That  being 
so,  it  seems  to  me  extremely  likely  that  when  the  fighting  be- 
gins he  will  make  a  bolt  of  it.  He  won't  wait  for  the  French 
to  enter,  for  he  would  know  well  enough  that  in  their  fury  at 
their  defeat,  the  fugitives,  if  they  came  upon  him,  would  be 
likely  to  tear  him  limb  from  limb,  just  as  they  have  murdered 
dozens  of  infinitely  better  men  ;  so  I  think  that  he  will  make 
off  beforehand.  I  imagine  that  he  will  go  secretly,  and  with 
only  two  or  three  attendants. ' ' 


AN   ESCAPE  299 

"  But  you  could  never  carry  him  off  without  an  alarm  being 
raised,  if  that  is  what  you  are  thinking  of,  O'Connor." 

"  No,  I  am  not  thinking  of  that ;  but  if  I  could,  say  with  Bull 
and  Macwitty,  suddenly  attack  him  like  three  robbers,  we 
might  carry  off  something  that  would  serve  as  a  sort  of  pass- 
port to  the  lady  abbess.  For  instance,  he  had  a  tremendously 
big  ring  on.  I  noticed  it  as  he  held  up  his  hands,  as  if  on 
purpose  to  show  it  off. ' ' 

' '  That  was  his  episcopal  ring, ' '  Herrara  laughed.  '  *  Yes,  if 
you  could  get  hold  of  that,  it  would  be  a  key  that  would  open 
the  door  of  any  convent. ' ' 

"  Do  you  think  she  would  hand  my  cousin  over  to  me  if  I 
showed  it  to  her  and  gave  her  a  message  as  from  the  bishop  ?  ' ' 

"Yes,  if  you  knew  the  name.  You  see,  from  the  day  she 
was  made  a  nun  she  lost  her  former  name  altogether ;  and 
certainly  the  bishop  would  send  for  her  under  her  convent 
name." 

"That  is  what  I  was  thinking  myself.  Then  I  must  get 
them  all  out." 

"  You  have  got  to  get  the  ring  first,"  Herrara  said  with  a 
smile. 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  mean  if  I  get  it." 

"  But  if  the  French  have  entered  the  town  you  can  never 
get  them  across  the  bridge. ' ' 

"  No,  I  know  that.  I  mean  to  get  a  boat  and  have  it  lying 
off  the  end  of  some  quiet  street.  I  could  put  a  couple  of  our 
men  into  that,  for  they  would  only  regard  it,  when  I  had  got 
her  on  board,  as  an  effort  on  my  part  to  save  one  of  the  nuns 
from  the  French.  One  thing  to  do  would  be  to  get  the  robe 
of  a  priest,  or  the  dress  of  one  of  the  bishop's  officials." 

Herrara  thought  for  some  time.  "  I  think  that  I  could  do 
that  for  you,  O'Connor.  Of  course  I  have  a  good  many  ac- 
quaintances in  Oporto,  among  them  some  ladies.  I  was  intend- 


300  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

ing  to  go  across  this  evening  and  see  some  of  them,  and  im- 
plore them  to  leave  the  town  before  it  is  too  late.  One  of 
these  friends  of  mine  might  buy  some  robes  for  me  ;  a  woman 
can  do  that  sort  of  thing  when  a  man  cannot.  She  can  pretend 
that  she  wants  to  buy  the  robe  as  a  present  for  the  parish 
priest,  or  her  father  confessor,  or  something  of  that  sort.  At 
any  rate,  it  is  worth  trying." 

"It  is,  indeed,  Herrara,  and  if  you  could  manage  it  I  should 
be  greatly  obliged  to  you." 

"I  will  go  across  at  once.  I  expect  Soult  will  be  close  up 
to-morrow  morning,  or  at  any  rate  the  next  day.  It  may  be 
another  couple  of  days  before  he  gets  his  whole  force  concen- 
trated, but  in  four  days  anyhow  his  shot  will  be  rattling  down 
into  the  town.  I  will  go  and  see  what  I  can  do.  You  had 
better  get  one  of  my  troopers  to  get  the  boat  for  you." 

Herrara  did  not  return  until  early  on  the  following  morning. 

"  I  have  managed  it,"  he  said,  as  Terence,  who  was  getting 
very  anxious  about  him,  ran  forward  to  meet  him. 

"  There  is  one  family  in  Oporto  whose  eldest  son  is  a  brother 
officer  of  mine,  and  I  have  visited  them  here  with  him,  and 
have  met  them  several  times  at  Lisbon.  Indeed,  I  may  tell 
you  frankly  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  troubles,  his  sister 
would,  ere  this  time,  have  been  affianced  to  me.  I  had  hoped 
that  they  had  left  the  town  before  this,  but  they  told  me  that 
any  movement  of  that  sort  might  bring  disaster  on  them.  Two 
of  her  brothers  are  in  the  army,  and  the  bishop  could  not, 
therefore,  pretend  that  the  father  was  a  traitor  to  the  country ; 
being  an  elderly  man,  the  latter  has  in  fact  held  aloof  alto- 
gether from  politics ;  but  he  is  certainly  not  of  the  bishop's 
party,  and  the  bishop  considers  that  all  who  are  not  with  him 
are  against  him.  Had  they  attempted  to  leave  the  town  there 
is  no  doubt  he  would  have  made  it  a  pretext  for  arresting  the 
father,  and  would  certainly  do  so  on  the  first  opportunity. 


AN    ESCAPE  301 

However,  they  quite  believed  that  the  great  force  that  there  is 
here  would  be  sufficient  to  defend  the  fortifications,  and  were 
completely  taken  aback  when  I  told  them  that  I  was  absolutely 
convinced  that  the  place  would  fall  at  the  first  attack  of  the 
French. 

"They  agreed  to  make  all  preparations  for  leaving  at  once. 
Their  horses  have  been  seized,  nominally  that  they  should  be 
used  on  the  fortifications,  but  really,  I  have  no  doubt,  to  pre- 
vent their  leaving.  Of  course  I  told  them  all  about  what  we 
had  been  doing,  in  which  they  were  intensely  interested.  For 
aught  they  know,  their  house  may  be  watched ;  so  they  will 
come  out  in  some  of  their  servants'  clothes.  I  told  them  that 
they  must  leave  on  the  night  before  Soult  made  his  attack. 
Of  course  he  will  summon  the  town,  and  the  bishop  will,  of 
course,  refuse  to  surrender,  and  you  may  be  sure  the  French 
will  attack  on  the  following  day.  They  left  me  alone  with 
Lorenza  for  a  time,  and  I  took  that  opportunity  of  telling  her 
about  your  plan,  and  what  you  wanted,  and  she  promised  to 
procure  you  the  dress  of  an  ecclesiastic  to-morrow.  I  told  her 
that  you  were  about  my  size  and  height. 

"  She  knew  your  cousin  personally,  and  was  very  fond  of 
her,  and  therefore  entered  all  the  more  readily  into  our  plans 
to  get  her  out.  She  said  that  she  disappeared  suddenly  some 
months  ago,  and  that  her  mother  had  given  out  that  she  had 
been  suddenly  seized  with  the  determination  to  enter  a  con- 
vent, much  against  her  own  wishes.  Lorenza  felt  sure  that 
this  was  not  true,  for  she  knew  that  your  cousin  had  heard 
from  her  father  much  about  the  Reformed  religion,  and  was  in 
her  heart  disposed  that  way.  The  mother  is  engaged  to  be 
married  to  a  nobleman  who  is  one  of  the  bishop's  warmest 
supporters,  and  the  general  idea  was  that  Mary  O'Connor  had 
been  forced  into  a  nunnery  against  her  will.  I  sat  talking 
with  them  until  late  last  night,  and  they  would  not  hear  of  my 


302  WITH    MOORE    AT   CORUNNA 

leaving,  especially  as  they  said  that  the  town  was  full  of  bands 
of  ruffians,  who  traversed  the  streets,  attacking  and  robbing 
anyone  of  respectable  appearance.  As  I  had  rather  a  fancy  to 
try  what  a  comfortable  bed  was  like  again,  I  did  not  need 
much  pressing." 

"  Thank  you  greatly,  Herrara,  I  am  indeed  obliged  to  you  ; 
things  seem  to  look  really  hopeful.  I  have  arranged  with  Bull 
and  Macwitty  that  on  the  evening  before  the  attack  is  likely 
to  take  place  we  will  watch  all  night  at  this  end  of  the  bridge. 
The  bishop  won't  leave  until  the  last  thing,  but  I  would  wager 
any  money  he  will  do  so  that  night.  He  won't  go  farther  than 
Villa  Nova,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  cross  again  at  once  if  the 
news  comes  that  the  French  have  been  beaten  off.  No  doubt 
he  will  make  the  excuse  that  as  an  ecclesiastic  he  could  take 
no  active  part  in  the  defence,  but  had  been  engaged  in  prayer, 
which  had  done  more  towards  gaining  the  victory  than  his 
presence  could  possibly  have  done. ' ' 

"I  should  not  be  surprised  if  that  should  be  his  course," 
Herrara  said,  smiling.  "  At  any  rate,  for  your  sake  I  hope 
that  it  will  be.  Have  you  seen  about  a  boat?  " 

"  Yes,  I  spoke  to  Francesco  Nortis  yesterday  evening,  and 
told  him  that  I  wanted  to  hire  a  boat  with  two  boatmen  for 
the  next  week.  They  were  to  be  at  his  service  night  and  day. 
He  was  to  tell  them  that  he  would  not  want  it  for  fishing,  but 
that,  in  case,  by  any  possibility,  the  French  took  the  town, 
he  should  be  able  to  go  across  and  bring  some  friends  over. 
When  I  told  him  that  money  was  no  object,  he  said  that  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  about  it.  They  will  be  glad  enough  to 
get  a  good  week's  pay  and  next  to  nothing  to  do  for  it." 

Two  days  passed  quietly.  On  the  first  day  the  news  arrived 
that  Silveira  had  invested  Chaves  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of 
Braga,  and  had  forced  the  garrison,  which  consisted  of  but  a 
hundred  fighting  men,  with  twelve  hundred  sick,  to  capitulate. 


AN   ESCAPE  303 

Day  after  day  news  came  of  the  advance  of  the  French.  They 
had  moved  in  three  columns.  Each  had  met  with  a  stout 
resistance,  but  had  carried  the  passes  and  bridges  after  severe 
loss.  One  of  the  columns  had  been  held  for  some  time  in 
check  at  the  Ponte  D'Ave,  but  had  carried  it  at  last,  where- 
upon the  Portuguese  had  murdered  their  general  and  dis- 
persed. 

On  the  26th,  six  days  after  the  battle  of  Braga,  Franceschi's 
cavalry  were  seen  approaching  the  position  in  front  of  Oporto. 
The  alarm  bells  rung,  the  troops  hurried  to  their  positions, 
but  the  day  passed  off  quietly,  the  confidence  of  the  people 
being  still  further  raised  by  the  arrival  of  2,000  regular  troops 
sent  by  Beresford  to  their  assistance.  As  there  were  already 
seven  or  eight  thousand  regular  troops  in  the  camp,  it  seemed 
to  all  that  as  Soult  had  but  20,000  men  fit  for  action,  the 
defences  ought  to  be  held  against  him  for  any  length  of  time. 
The  majority,  indeed,  believed  that  he  would  not  even  venture 
to  attack  the  town  when  upon  his  arrival  he  perceived  its 
strength,  especially  when  they  knew  that  he  had  but  a  few 
guns  with  him,  his  park  of  artillery  being  still  at  Tuy,  which 
was  closely  invested  by  the  Spaniards. 

On  the  following  day  the  whole  French  army  settled  down 
in  front  of  the  Portuguese  works,  and  a  wild  and  purposeless 
fire  was  now  opened  by  the  defenders,  although  the  French 
were  far  beyond  musket-range. 

Soult  sent  in  a  message  to  the  bishop  urging  him  to  surrender. 
He  assured  him  that  resistance  was  hopeless,  and  that  it  was 
his  earnest  desire  to  save  so  great  a  city  from  the  horrors  of  a 
storm.  The  message  was  sent  by  a  prisoner,  who  was  seized 
by  the  mob  in  spite  of  the  flag  of  truce  that  he  carried,  and 
would  have  been  murdered  had  he  not  assured  the  people  that 
he  came  with  a  message  from  Soult,  to  the  effect  that,  seeing 
the  hopelessness  of  attacking  the  town  or  of  marching  back  to 


304  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

the  frontier  in  safety,  he  wished  to  negotiate  for  a  surrender 
for  himself  and  his  army. 

At  one  point  the  Portuguese  displayed  a  white  flag,  and 
shouted  that  they  wished  to  surrender.  A  French  general  ad- 
vanced with  another  officer,  but  when  they  reached  the  lines 
the  Portuguese  fell  upon  him,  killed  his  companion,  and  carried 
the  general  a  prisoner  into  the  town.  The  negotiations  were 
prolonged  until  evening,  but  the  bishop  declined  all  Soult's 
overtures,  and  the  fire  from  the  intrenchments  continued.  In 
the  course  of  the  evening  Merle's  division,  in  order  to  divert 
attention  from  the  points  Soult  had  fixed  upon  for  the  attack, 
moved  towards  the  Portuguese  left,  when  a  tremendous  fire  of 
artillery  and  musketry  opened  upon  it.  The  division  made  its 
way  forward,  and  occupied  some  hollow  ground  which  shielded 
it  from  fire,  within  a  very  short  distance  of  the  intrenchments. 
Feeling  that  the  crisis  was  at  hand,  Terence  had  everything 
prepared.  The  boatmen  were  told  that  they  might  be  required 
that  night,  and  that  they  were  to  have  the  boat  in  readiness 
to  start  at  any  moment.  Herrara  had  warned  his  friends,  and 
went  to  their  house  with  six  of  his  men,  as  soon  as  it  became 
dusk,  to  escort  them  over.  Terence  with  his  two  troopers, 
clad  in  the  dresses  of  two  of  the  tallest  of  the  men  and 
wrapped  in  cloaks,  with  their  broad  hats  pressed  low  down 
upon  their  foreheads,  went  down  to  the  end  of  the  bridge  as 
soon  as  it  became  quite  dark.  The  river  was  three  hundred 
yards  broad,  but  the  sound  of  the  confusion  and  alarm  that 
prevailed  in  the  city  could  be  plainly  heard,  although  the  even- 
ing had  set  in  rough  and  tempestuous.  The  shouts  of  the  ex- 
cited mob  mingled  with  the  clanging  of  the  church  bells. 

"  That  does  not  sound  like  confidence  in  victory,"  Terence 
remarked. 

"  Quite  the  other  way,  sir.  I  should  say  that  after  all  their 
bragging  every  man  in  the  place  is  in  a  blue  funk." 


AN    ESCAPE  305 

A  great  many  people,  especially  women  with  children,  were 
making  their  way  across  the  bridge.  About  nine  o'clock  a 
little  knot  of  five  or  six  men,  following  a  tall  figure,  passed 
them. 

"That  is  the  bishop,"  Terence  whispered,  and  in  pur- 
suance of  the  orders  that  he  had  previously  given  them,  the 
two  men  followed  him  as  he  fell  in  at  a  short  distance  behind 
the  group.  These  turned  off  from  the  main  road  and  took  one 
that  led  up  to  the  Serra  Convent,  standing  on  the  crest  of  a 
rugged  hill.  As  soon  as  they  had  passed  beyond  the  houses  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  the  road  was  altogether  deserted,  Ter- 
ence said  to  the  men  : 

"  Now  is  our  time.  Do  you  take  the  attendants ;  I  will 
manage  the  bishop." 

They  moved  forward  quickly  and  silently  until  they  were 
close  to  the  group,  then  they  dashed  forward.  As  the  startled 
attendants  turned  round  the  troopers  fell  upon  them,  and  with 
heavy  blows  from  their  fists  knocked  them  to  the  ground  like 
nine-pins.  The  bishop  turned  round  and  shouted  : 

"  Villains,  I  am  the  bishop  !  " 

"  I  know  that !  "  Terence  exclaimed,  and  sprang  at  him. 

The  prelate  reeled  and  fell.  Terence  threw  himself  upon 
him,  and  seizing  his  hand  wrested  from  it  the  episcopal  ring. 
Then,  upon  seeing  that  the  bishop  had  fainted,  probably  from 
fright,  Terence  leapt  to  his  feet.  The  five  attendants  were 
lying  on  the  ground. 

"All  right,  lads,"  he  said,  "we  have  got  what  we  wanted, 
but  just  strip  off  one  of  these  fellows'  clothes.  Take  this  one, 
he  is  a  priest." 

It  took  but  a  minute  for  the  two  troopers  to  strip  off  the 
garment  and  pick  up  the  three-cornered  hat. 

"  Now,  come  along,  men." 

They  reached  the  houses  again  without  hearing  so  much  as 

29 


306  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNN 

a  cry  from  the  astounded  Portuguese,  who  as  yet  had  but  a 
vague  idea  of  what  had  happened  to  them.  The  capture  of 
the  clothes  had  been  rendered  necessary  by  Herrara's  report, 
two  days  before,  that  the  young  lady  had  failed  to  get  the 
clothes,  for  the  shopman  had  asked  so  many  questions  con- 
cerning them  that  she  had  said  carelessly  that  it  made  no 
matter.  She  had  intended  to  give  them  as  a  present  and  a 
surprise,  but  as  there  seemed  a  difficulty  about  it  she  would 
give  money  instead,  and  let  the  priest  choose  his  own  clothes. 
She  had  purposely  entered  a  shop  in  the  opposite  end  of  the 
town  from  that  in  which  her  father  lived,  so  that  there  would 
be  less  chance  of  her  being  recognized. 

Herrara  said  that  she  would  try  elsewhere,  but  Terence  at 
once  begged  him  to  tell  her  not  to  do  so. 

"  The  bishop  is  sure  to  have  some  of  his  priests  with  him," 
he  said,  "  and  if  I  rob  him  of  his  ring,  I  might  just  as  well  rob 
one  of  them  of  his  clothes." 

On  returning  to  the  camp  Terence  found  that  his  comrade 
had  already  arrived  with  a  gentleman  and  three  ladies.  The 
tent  had  been  given  up  for  the  use  of  the  latter.  Herrara  had 
warned  him  not  to  say  a  word  to  the  old  gentleman  of  his 
adventure. 

"  He  and  the  others  know  nothing  about  it,"  he  said,  "  and 
it  is  just  as  well  that  they  shouldn't,  for  he  is  somewhat  rigid 
in  his  notions,  and  might  be  rather  horrified  at  your  assaulting 
a  bishop,  however  great  a  scoundrel  he  might  be,  and  would 
be  specially  so  at  the  borrowing  of  his  ring." 

At  twelve  o'clock  heavy  peals  of  thunder  were  heard,  fol- 
lowed by  a  tremendous  outbreak  of  firing  from  the  intrench- 
ments,  two  hundred  guns  and  a  terrific  musketry  fire  opening 
suddenly. 

"  The  French  are  attacking  !  "  Herrara  exclaimed. 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  Terence  replied.     "  It  is  more  likely 


AN    ESCAPE  307 

to  be  a  false  alarm.  The  troops  may  have  thought  that  the 
thunder  was  the  roar  of  French  guns.  Soult  would  hardly 
make  an  attack  at  night,  or,  not  knowing  the  nature  of  the 
ground  behind  the  intrenchments,  his  men  would  be  falling 
into  confusion,  and  perhaps  fire  into  each  other." 

As,  after  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  prodigious  din,  the  fire 
slackened  and  presently  ceased  altogether,  it  was  evident 
that  this  supposition  was  a  correct  one.  The  morning  broke 
bright  and  still,  and  an  hour  later  the  cannonade  began  again. 
Terence  at  once,  after  telling  Herrara  to  form  the  troops  up 
and  march  them  down  to  the  end  of  the  bridge,  left  the  camp, 
and  after  proceeding  a  short  distance  took  off  his  uniform  and 
donned  the  attire  of  the  ecclesiastic,  and  then  hurried  down 
into  the  town.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  two  troopers  in 
their  peasant  dress.  These  left  him  at  the  bridge.  The  din 
was  now  tremendous,  every  church  bell  was  ringing  furiously, 
and  frightened  women  were  already  crowding  down  towards 
the  bridge. 

Their  point  of  crossing  had  already  been  decided  upon — it 
was  at  the  end  of  a  street  close  to  the  convent,  and  when 
Terence  reached  the  convent  the  two  men  were  already  stand- 
ing at  the  end  of  the  street,  awaiting  him. 

"Now,  you  do  your  part  of  the  business  and  I  will  do 
mine,"  Terence  said,  and  he  moved  forward  to  the  door  of 
the  convent,  where  he  would  be  unseen  should  anyone  look 
out. 

The  two  troopers  went  to  the  middle  of  the  street,  opposite 
the  window  which  the  officer  had  described  to  Terence,  and 
both  shouted  in  a  stentorian  voice : 

"Mary  O'Connor!  " 

The  shout  was  heard  above  the  tumult  of  the  battle  and  the 
din  in  the  city,  and  a  head  appeared  at  the  window  and  looked 
down  with  a  bewildered  expression. 


308  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"  Mary  O'Connor,"  Bull  shouted  again,  "  a  friend  is  here 
to  rescue  you.  You  will  leave  the  convent  directly  with  the 
rest.  Look  out  for  us." 

Then  they  walked  on,  and  passed  Terence. 

"  Have  you  seen  her  face  ?  " 

"  We  have,  sir.     We  shall  know  her  again,  never  fear." 

Terence  now  seized  the  bell  and  rung  it  vigorously.  The 
door  opened,  and  a  terrified  face  appeared  at  the  window. 

"  I  have  a  message  from  the  bishop  to  the  lady  superior." 

The  door  was  opened,  and  was  at  once  closed  and  barred 
behind  him.  He  was  led  along  some  passages  to  the  room 
where  the  lady  superior,  pale  and  agitated,  was  awaiting  him. 

"Have  the  French  entered  the  intrenchments ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  trust  they  have  not  entered  yet,  but  they  may  do  so  at 
any  moment.  The  bishop  is  at  the  Serra  Convent,  and  from 
there  has  a  view  over  the  town  to  the  intrenchments.  He 
begs  you  to  instantly  bring  the  nuns  across,  for  they  will  be 
in  safety  there,  whereas  no  one  can  say  what  may  happen  in 
the  town.  Here  is  his  episcopal  ring  in  proof  that  I  am  the 
bearer  of  his  orders.  I  pray  you  to  hasten,  sister,  for  a  crowd 
of  fugitives  are  already  pouring  over  the  bridge,  and  there  is 
not  a  moment  to  be  lost." 

"  The  nuns  are  just  coming  down  to  prayer  in  the  chapel, 
and  we  will  start  instantly." 

In  two  minutes  upward  of  a  hundred  frightened  women 
were  gathered  in  the  courtyard. 

"  Are  all  here  ?  "  Terence  asked  the  lady  superior. 

"All  of  them." 

"I  asked  because  I  know  that  he  is  specially  anxious  that 
one,  who  is  a  sort  of  prisoner,  should  not  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  French,  as  that  might  cause  serious  trouble." 

"I  know  whom  you  mean,"  and  she  called  out  "Sister 
Theresa  !  ' '  There  was  no  answer. 


AN   ESCAPE  309 

"It  is  well  you  asked,"  she  said.  "They  have  forgotten 
her."  She  gave  orders  to  one  of  the  sisters,  who  at  once  en- 
tered the  house,  and  returned  in  a  minute  with  a  young  nun. 
The  door  was  now  opened,  and  they  moved  out  in  procession. 
Terence  could  hear  regular  volleys  amidst  the  roar  of  guns  and 
the  incessant  crack  of  muskets. 

"  I  fear  that  they  have  entered  the  intrenchments,"  he  said. 
"  Hasten,  sister,  or  we  shall  be  too  late." 

With  hurried  steps  they  passed  along  the  deserted  streets. 
As  they  neared  the  bridge  a  crowd  of  fugitives  were  hastening 
in  that  direction,  and  when  they  approached  its  head  they 
found  it  blocked  by  a  struggling  mass. 

"  What  is  to  be  done?  "  the  lady  superior  asked  in  conster- 
nation. 

"  We  must  wait  a  minute  or  two ;  they  may  clear  off." 

But  every  second  the  crowd  increased,  and  was  soon  thick 
behind  them.  Already  the  line  of  nuns  was  broken  up  by  the 
pressure.  Terence  had  kept  his  eyes  on  the  two  tall  figures 
who  had  followed,  at  first  behind  them,  and  had  then  quick- 
ened their  footsteps  until  abreast  of  the  centre  of  the  line,  and 
to  his  satisfaction  saw  that  they  had  one  of  the  nuns  between 
them,  and  were  forcing  their  way  with  her  through  the  crowd 
behind.  At  this  moment  a  terrible  cry  arose  from  the  crowd. 
A  troop  of  Portuguese  dragoons  rode  furiously  down  the 
street  leading  to  the  bridge,  and  dashed  into  the  crowd,  tramp- 
ling down  all  in  their  way  in  their  reckless  terror,  until  they 
gained  the  end  of  the  bridge.  As  they  rode  on  to  it,  two  of 
the  boats,  already  low  in  the  water  from  the  weight  upon 
them,  gave  a  surge  and  sank,  carrying  with  them  hundreds  of 
people.  The  crowd  recoiled  with  a  cry  of  horror. 

"There  is  no  escape  now,  sister,"  Terence  said;  "go 
back  to  the  convent." 

"  Home,  sisters!  "  she  cried  in  a  loud,  shrill  voice,  that 


310  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

made  itself  heard  even  over  the  screams   of  the  drowning 
people  and  the  wails  and  cries  of  the  mob. 

Terence  placed  himself  before  the  lady  superior,  and  by 
main  force  made  a  way  through  the  crowd ;  which  was  the 
more  easy  as,  seeing  their  only  escape  cut  off,  numbers  were 
now  beginning  to  disperse  to  their  homes.  The  movement 
was  converted  into  a  wild  rush  when  a  troop  of  French  cav- 
alry came  thundering  down  to  the  bridge.  In  a  moment  all 
was  mad  confusion  and  fright.  The  nuns  followed  their  su- 
perior, and  all  thought  of  decorum  being  now  lost,  fled  with 
her  like  a  flock  of  frightened  sheep  along  the  street  leading  to 
the  convent.  Terence  paused  a  moment.  He  saw  that  the 
French  troopers  threw  themselves  from  their  horses,  and,  all 
animosity  being  for  the  moment  forgotten  in  the  horror  of 
the  scene,  set  to  work  to  endeavour  to  save  the  drowning 
wretches,  regardless  of  the  fire  which,  as  soon  as  the  French 
appeared,  was  opened  by  the  battery  on  the  height  of  Villa 
Nova. 

Then  he  sped  away  after  the  nuns,  whom  he  soon  passed. 
He  turned  down  the  street  next  to  the  convent,  and,  on  reach- 
ing the  end,  saw  the  two  troopers  with  a  nun  in  a  boat  ten 
yards  away.  Macwitty  was  standing  covering  the  two  boat- 
men with  his  pistols. 

11  Row  back  to  the  shore  again,"  he  roared  out  in  English, 
"and  take  off  that  gentleman  there."  The  men  did  not 
understand  his  words,  but  they  understood  his  gestures,  and 
a  stroke  or  two  took  them  alongside.  Terence  leapt  in  and 
told  the  men  to  row  across  the  river. 

"  This  is  an  unexpected  meeting,  cousin,"  he  said  to  the  girl. 

"They  have  been  telling  me  who  you  are,  and  how  you 
have  effected  my  rescue,"  she  said,  bursting  into  tears. 
"  How  can  I  thank  you  ?  " 

"  Well,  this  is  hardly  a  time  for  thanks,"  he  said,  "and  I 


MACWITTY  WAS  STANDING  COVERING  THE  TWO  BOATMEN 
WITH  HIS  PISTOLS." 


AN   ESCAPE  311 

am  as  glad  as  you  are  that  it  has  all  turned  out  well.  I  will 
tell  you  all  about  it  as  soon  as  we  are  across. ' ' 

They  were  nearly  over  when  he  exclaimed  to  the  troopers : 

"  The  French  have  repaired  the  bridge  with  planks.  See, 
they  are  crossing  !  ' ' 

They  sprang  out  on  reaching  the  opposite  shore.  A  mo- 
ment later  a  rattle  of  musketry  broke  out. 

"  Macwitty,"  he  said,  "  I  will  give  this  young  lady  into 
your  charge.  Take  her  straight  up  to  the  camp.  There  are 
three  ladies  there,"  he  said  to  his  cousin,  "  and  in  the  tent 
they  have  some  clothes  for  you  to  change  into.  It  will  not 
be  long  before  I  shall  rejoin  you.  But  I  must  join  my  regi- 
ment now ;  they  are  engaged  with  the  enemy." 

As  he  hurried  along  with  Bull,  he  could  hear  above  the 
sound  of  the  musketry  the  sharp  crack  of  the  field-guns  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

"  They  are  covering  the  passage,  Bull." 

As  he  came  up  he  found  that  Herrara  had  taken  possession 
of  the  houses  near  the  end  of  the  bridge.  A  part  of  his  troops 
filled  the  windows,  while  the  main  body  lined  the  quay. 
The  French  were  recoiling,  but  a  mass  of  their  troops  could 
be  seen  at  the  further  end  of  the  bridge,  and  two  field  batter- 
ies were  keeping  up  an  incessant  fire.  Herrara  was  posted 
with  a  company  at  the  end  of  the  bridge. 

"  We  had  better  fall  back,  Herrara,  before  they  form  a 
fresh  column  of  attack.  We  might  repulse  them  again,  but 
they  will  be  able  to  cross  by  boats  elsewhere,  and  we  shall 
be  taken  in  front  and  rear.  Let  us  draw  off  in  good  order. 
The  infantry  will  be -sure  to  march  straight  against  the  bat- 
tery on  the  hill  behind,  and  it  will  be  half  an  hour  before  the 
cavalry  can  cross,  and  by  that  time  we  shall  be  well  on  our 
way ;  whereas,  if  we  stop  here  until  we  are  taken  in  flank  and 
rear,  we  shall  be  cut  to  pieces. ' ' 


312  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"  I  quite  agree  with  you,"  Herrara  said,  and  ordered  the 
man  with  the  horn  standing  beside  him  to  sound  the  retreat. 

The  men  near  at  once  formed  up  and  got  in  motion,  those 
in  the  houses  poured  out,  and  in  two  minutes  the  whole  force 
were  going  up  the  hill  at  a  trot,  but  still  preserving  their 
order.  Five  minutes  later  the  head  of  the  French  column 
poured  over  the  bridge.  Just  as  the  troops  reached  the  place 
of  encampment  the  fire  of  the  battery  ceased  suddenly. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
MARY    O'CONNOR 

NEVER  was  a  large  force  of  men  driven  from  a  very  strong 
position,  carefully  prepared  and  defended  by  a  vast 
number  of  guns,  so  quickly  and  easily  as  were  the  Portuguese 
before  Oporto.  The  bishop,  after  rejecting  Soult's  summons 
and  disregarding  his  prayers  to  save  the  city  from  ruin,  sud- 
denly lost  heart,  and  after  all  his  boasting,  slipped  away  after 
dark  to  the  Serra  Convent,  leaving  the  command  to  the  generals 
of  the  army.  The  feint  which  Soult  had  made  with  Merle's 
division  the  night  before  against  the  Portuguese  left  succeeded 
perfectly,  the  Portuguese  massing  their  forces  on  that  side  to 
resist  the  expected  attack. 

Soult's  real  intentions,  however,  were  to  break  through  the 
centre  of  the  line  and  then  to  drive  the  Portuguese  right  and 
left  away  from  the  town,  while  he  pushed  a  body  of  troops 
straight  through  the  city  to  seize  the  bridge  and  thus  cut  off 
all  retreat.  Accordingly  he  commenced  the  attack  on  both 
wings.  The  Portuguese  weakened  their  centre  to  meet  these, 
and  then  the  central  division  of  the  French  rushed  forward, 
burst  through  the  intrenchments,  and  carried  at  once  the  two 


MARY  O'CONNOR  313 

principal  forts.  Then  two  battalions  marched  into  the  town 
and  made  for  the  bridge,  while  the  rest  fell  on  the  Portuguese 
rear.  The  French  right  carried  in  succession  a  number  of 
forts,  took  fifty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  drove  off  a  great  mass 
of  the  Portuguese  from  the  town,  while  Merle  met  with  equal 
success  on  the  other  flank.  Half  the  Portuguese,  therefore, 
were  driven  up  the  valley  of  the  Douro,  and  the  other  half 
down  towards  the  sea. 

Maddened  by  terror,  some  of  them  strove  to  swim  across, 
others  to  get  over  in  small  boats.  Lima,  their  general,  shout- 
ed to  them  that  the  river  was  too  wide  to  swim,  and  that 
those  who  took  to  boats  would  be  shot  down  by  the  pur- 
suing French.  Whereupon  his  own  troops  turned  upon  him 
and  murdered  him,  although  the  French  were  but  a  couple  of 
hundred  yards  away ;  they  then  renewed  their  attempt  to 
cross,  and  many  perished.  Similar  scenes  took  place  in  the 
valley  above  the  town,  but  here  the  French  cavalry  interposed 
between  the  panic-stricken  fugitives  and  the  river,  and  so 
prevented  them  throwing  away  their  lives  in  the  hopeless  at- 
tempt to  swim  across.  In  the  meantime  incessant  firing  was 
going  on  in  the  city.  The  French  column  arriving  at  the 
bridge,  after  doing  their  best  to  rescue  the  drowning  people, 
sacrificed  to  the  heartless  cowardice  of  the  Portuguese  cavalry, 
speedily  repaired  the  break  caused  by  the  sinking  boats  and 
prepared  to  cross  the  river,  while  others  scattered  through  the 
town. 

The  inhabitants  fired  upon  them  from  the  roofs  and  win- 
dows, and  two  hundred  men  defended  the  bishop's  palace  to 
the  last.  Every  house  was  the  scene  of  conflict.  The  French 
on  entering  one  of  the  principal  squares  found  a  number  of 
their  comrades,  who  had  been  taken  prisoners  and  sent  to  the 
town,  still  alive  but  horribly  mutilated,  some  of  them  having 
been  blinded,  others  having  legs  cut  off,  and  all  mutilated  in 


WITH  MOORE  At  CORUNNA 

various  ways.  This  terrible  sight  naturally  goaded  them  to 
such  a  state  of  fury  that  Soult  in  vain  endeavoured  to  stop 
the  work  of  slaughter  and  pillage.  This  continued  for  several 
hours,  and  altogether  the  number  of  Portuguese  who  perished 
by  drowning  and  slaughter  in  the  streets  was  estimated  at  ten 
thousand,  of  which  the  number  killed  in  the  defence  of  the 
works  formed  but  an  insignificant  portion. 

Terence  on  his  arrival  at  the  camp  in  the  wood  resumed 
his  uniform.  Herrara  had,  on  the  previous  day,  purchased  a 
light  waggon  and  two  horses  for  the  use  of  the  ladies,  and  as 
soon  as  the  men  had  strapped  on  the  cloaks  and  blankets  which 
they  had  left  behind  them  when  they  advanced  to  the  defence 
of  the  bridge,  the  retreat  began.  Not  until  he  had  seen  the 
column  fairly  on  its  way  did  Terence  ride  up  to  speak  to  the 
occupants  of  the  waggon.  He  had  not  been  introduced  by 
Herrara  .to  his  friends,  for  on  his  return  from  his  encounter 
with  the  bishop  the  ladies  had  already  retired  to  their  tent. 

11 1  must  introduce  myself  to  you,  Don  Jose.  I  am  Terence 
O'Connor,  an  ensign  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's  regiment  of 
Mayo  Fusiliers  and  an  aide-de-camp  of  General  Cradock,  a 
very  humble  personage,  though  at  present  in  command  of 
these  troops — irregular  regiments  of  the  Portuguese  army." 

"  Lieutenant  Herrara  has  told  us  so  much  about  you,  Sen  or 
O'Connor,  that  we  have  been  looking  forward  with  much 
pleasure  to  meeting  you.  Allow  me  to  present  you  to  my 
wife  and  daughters,  who  have  been  as  anxious  as  myself  to 
meet  an  officer  who  has  done  such  good  services  to  the  cause, 
and  to  whom  it  is  due  at  the  present  moment  that  we  are  here, 
instead  of  being  in  the  midst  of  the  terrible  scenes  that  are  no 
doubt  at  this  moment  being  enacted  in  Oporto." 

Terence  bowed  deeply  to  the  ladies,  and  then  said  to  his 
cousiii  : 

"  I  almost  require  introducing  to  you,  for  I  caught  but  a 


MARY  O'CONNOR  315 

glimpse  of  you  as  we  crossed  the  river,  and  you  look  so  differ- 
ent now  that  you  have  got  rid  of  that  hideous  attire  that  I 
don't  think  that  I  should  have  known  you." 

"  You  have  changed  greatly,  too,  Senor  O'Connor.*' 

Terence  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"  My  dear  cousin,  it  is  evident  that  you  know  very  little 
of  English  customs,  though  you  speak  English  so  well.  We 
don't  call  our  cousins  Mr.  and  Miss ;  you  will  have  to  call  me 
Terence  and  I  shall  certainly  call  you  Mary.  Macwitty 
brought  you  back  to  camp  all  right  ?  ' ' 

"  Yes ;  but  it  was  terrible  to  hear  all  that  firing,  and  I  was 
wondering  all  the  time  whether  you  were  being  hurt." 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  of  powder  fired  away  to  every  one 
that  gets  hit." 

' '  Do  you  know  what  has  happened  in  the  town  ?  ' '  Don 
Jose  asked. 

"  I  know  no  more  than  what  my  cousin  has  no  doubt  told 
you  of  that  terrible  scene  at  the  bridge.  It  is  evident  that 
the  French  burst  through  the  lines  without  any  difficulty,  as 
we  saw  no  soldiers,  except  those  cowardly  cavalrymen,  before 
the  French  arrived.  It  is  probable  that  the  intrenchments 
were  carried  in  the  centre,  and  Soult  evidently  sent  a  body  of 
soldiers  straight  through  the  town  to  secure  the  bridge.  I 
think  he  must  have  cut  off  the  main  body  of  the  defenders  of 
the  intrenchments  from  entering  the  town  and  must  either 
have  captured  them  or  driven  them  off.  The  fire  of  cannon 
had  ceased  over  there  before  we  retired,  and  it  is  clear  from 
that  that  the  whole  of  the  intrenchments  must  have  been  capt- 
ured. There  was,  however,  a  heavy  rattle  of  musketry  in  the 
town,  and  I  suppose  that  the  houses,  and  perhaps  some  barri- 
cades, were  being  defended.  It  was  a  mad  thing  to  do,  for  it 
would  only  excite  the  fury  of  the  French  troops,  and  get  them 
out  of  hand  altogether.  If  there  had  been  no  resistance  the 


316  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

columns  might  have  marched  in  in  good  order ;  but  even 
then  I  fear  there  might  have  been  trouble,  for  unfortunately, 
your  peasants  have  behaved  with  such  merciless  cruelty  to  all 
stragglers  who  fell  into  their  hands,  that  the  thirst  for  ven- 
geance would  in  any  case  have  been  irrepressible.  Still,  the 
officers  might  possibly  have  preserved  order  had  there  been  no 
resistance." 

"  Shall  we  be  pursued,  do  you  think,  sen"  or?  "  Don  Jose's 
wife  asked. 

"  I  do  not  think  so.  Possibly  parties  of  horse  may  scour 
the  country  for  some  distance  round,  to  see  if  there  is  a  body 
of  troops  here,  but  we  are  too  strong  to  be  attacked  by  any  but 
a  very  numerous  body  of  horse ;  and  if  they  should  attempt 
it,  you  may  be  sure  that  we  can  render  a  very  good  account 
of  ourselves.  We  have  beaten  off  the  French  horse  once,  and, 
as  since  then  we  have  had  some  stiff  fighting,  I  have  no  fear 
of  the  men  being  unsteady,  even  if  all  Franceschi's  cavalry 
came  down  upon  us.  Of  that,  however,  there  will  be  little 
chance  ;  the  French  have  their  hands  full  for  some  days,  and 
a  few  scouting  parties  are  all  that  they  are  likely  to  send  out." 

"  You  speak  Portuguese  very  well,  Terence,"  Mary  O'Con- 
nor said,  in  that  language,  hesitating  a  little  before  she  used 
his  Christian  name. 

"  I  have  been  nearly  nine  months  in  the  country,  during 
most  of  which  I  have  been  on  the  staff,  and  have  had  to  com- 
municate with  peasants  and  others,  and  for  the  past  two  months 
I  have  spoken  nothing  else ;  necessity  is  a  good  teacher.  Be- 
sides which,  Lieutenant  Herrara  has  been  good  enough  to  take 
great  pains  in  correcting  my  mistakes  and  teaching  me  the 
proper  idioms ;  another  six  months  of  this  work  and  I  have 
no  doubt  I  shall  be  able  to  pass  as  a  native." 

After  marching  fifteen  miles  the  column  halted,  Terence 
feeling  assured  that  the  French  would  not  push  out  their 


MARY  O'CONNOR  317 

scouting  parties  more  than  three  or  four  miles  from  Villa 
Nova.  They  halted  at  the  edge  of  a  forest,  and  a  party  un- 
der one  of  the  officers  was  at  once  despatched  to  a  village  two 
miles  away,  and  returned  in  an  hour  with  a  drove  of  pigs  that 
had  been  bought  there,  and  a  cart  laden  with  bread  and  wine. 
Fires  had  already  been  lighted,  and  after  seeing  that  the  ra- 
tions were  divided  among  the  various  companies,  Terence 
went  to  the  tent.  Herrara  was  chatting  with  his  friends,  and 
Mary  O'Connor  came  out  at  once  and  joined  him. 

"  That  is  right,  Mary ;  we  will  take  a  stroll  in  the  wood  and 
have  a  talk  together.  Now  tell  me  how  you  have  got  on.  I 
had  expected  to  find  you  quite  thin  and  almost  starving." 

"  No,  I  have  had  plenty  of  bread  to  eat,"  she  laughed; 
"  the  sisters  kept  me  well  supplied.  I  am  sure  that  most  of 
them  were  sorry  for  me,  and  they  used  to  hide  away  some  of 
their  own  bread  and  bring  it  to  me  when  they  had  a  chance. 
The  lady  superior  was  very  hard,  and  if  I  had  had  to  depend 
entirely  on  what  she  sent  me  up  I  should  have  done  very 
badly.  I  always  ate  as  much  as  I  could,  as  I  wanted  to  keep 
up  my  strength  ;  for  I  knew  that  if  I  got  weak  I  might  give 
way  and  do  what  they  wanted,  and  I  was  quite  determined 
that  I  would  not,  if  I  could  help  it." 

"  Macwitty  told  you,  I  suppose,  how  I  came  to  hear  where 
you  were  imprisoned  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  he  said  that  the  officer  had  given  you  the  letter  that 
I  dropped  to  him ;  yet  how  did  he  come  to  know  that  you 
were  my  cousin  ?  ' ' 

"  It  was  quite  an  accident ;  just  the  similarity  of  name.  We 
were  chatting,  and  he  said,  casually,  '  I  suppose  that  you  have 
no  relatives  at  Oporto,'  and  I  at  once  said  I  had,  for  fortu- 
nately my  father  had  been  telling  me  about  your  father  and 
you,  the  last  time  I  saw  him,  that  is  four  months  ago.  He  was 
badly  wounded  at  Vimiera  and  invalided  home.  Then  Cap- 


318  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

tain  Travers  told  me  about  getting  your  letter  and  what  was 
in  it,  and  I  felt  sure  that  it  was  you,  and  of  course  made  up 
my  mind  to  do  what  I  could  to  get  you  out,  though  at  the 
time  I  did  not  think  that  I  should  be  in  Oporto  until  I  en- 
tered with  the  British  army." 

11  But  I  cannot  think  how  you  got  us  all  to  start,  and  walked 
along  with  the  lady  superior  as  if  you  were  a  friend  of  hers. 
Macwitty  had  not  time  to  tell  me  that.  I  was  so  frightened 
and  bewildered  with  the  dreadful  noise  and  the  strangeness  of 
it  all  that  I  could  not  ask  him  many  questions." 

"It  was  by  virtue  of  this  ring,"  he  said,  holding  up  his 
hand. 

"  Why,"  she  exclaimed  in  surprise,  "  that  is  the  bishop's !  I 
noticed  it  on  his  finger  when  he  came  one  day  to  me  and 
scolded  me,  and  said  that  I  should  remain  a  prisoner  if  it  was 
for  years  until  my  obstinate  spirit  was  broken.  But  how  did 
you  get  it?  " 

"  Not  with  the  bishop's  good-will,  you  may  be  sure,  Mary," 
Terence  laughed ;  and  he  then  told  her  how  he  had  become 
possessed  of  it. 

The  girl  looked  quite  scared. 

"  It  sounds  dreadful,  doesn't  it,  Mary,  to  think  that  I  should 
have  laid  hands  upon  a  bishop,  and  such  a  bishop,  a  man  who 
regards  himself  as  the  greatest  in  Portugal.  However,  there 
was  no  other  way  of  getting  the  ring,  and  I  could  not  see  how, 
without  it,  I  could  persuade  the  lady  superior  to  leave  her 
convent  with  you  all;  and  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  would 
rather  have  got  it  that  way  than  any  other.  The  bishop  is,  in 
my  opinion,  a  man  who  deserves  no  respect.  He  has  terror- 
ized all  the  north  of  Portugal,  has  caused  scores  of  better  men 
than  himself  to  be  imprisoned  or  put  to  death,  and  has  now 
by  his  folly  and  ignorance  cost  the  lives  of  no  one  knows  how 
many  thousand  men,  and  brought  about  the  sack  of  Oporto." 


319 

"  Did  you  hear  anything  of  my  mother?  "  the  girl  asked. 

"  No  ;  my  Portuguese  was  not  good  enough  for  me  to  ask 
questions  without  risking  being  detected  as  a  foreigner  at 
once.  She  has  behaved  shamefully  to  you,  Mary." 

"She  never  liked  me,"  the  girl  said,  simply.  "She  and 
father  never  got  on  well  together,  and  I  think  her  dislike  be- 
gan by  his  taking  to  me,  and  my  liking  to  be  with  him  and 
getting  to  talk  English.  There  was  a  terrible  quarrel  between 
them  once  because  she  accused  him  of  teaching  me  to  be  a 
Protestant,  although  he  never  did  so.  He  did  give  me  a 
Bible,  and  I  used  to  ask  him  questions  and  he  answered  them, 
that  was  all ;  but  as  it  did  seem  to  me  that  he  was  much 
wiser  in  all  things  than  she  was,  I  thought  that  he  might  be 
wiser  in  religion  too.  I  would  have  given  up  the  property 
directly  they  wanted  me  to,  if  they  would  have  let  me  go 
away  to  England  ;  but  when  they  took  me  to  the  convent 
and  cut  off  my  hair,  and  forced  me  to  become  a  nun,  I  would 
not  give  way  to  them.  I  never  took  the  vows,  Terence ;  I 
would  not  open  my  lips,  but  they  went  on  with  the  service 
just  the  same.  I  was  determined  that  I  would  not  yield.  I 
thought  that  the  English  would  come  some  day,  and  that  I 
might  be  freed  then." 

"  What  would  you  have  done  in  England  if  you  had  gone 
there,  Mary?" 

"I  should  have  found  your  father  out,  and  gone  to  him. 
Father  told  me  that  your  father  was  his  greatest  friend,  and 
just  before  he  died  he  told  me  that  he  had  privately  sent  over 
all  his  own  money  to  a  bank  at  Cork,  and  ordered  it  to  be  put 
in  your  father's  name.  It  was  a  good  deal  of  money,  for  he 
would  not  give  up  the  business  when  he  married  my  mother, 
though  she  wanted  him  to ;  but  he  said  that  he  could  not  live 
in  idleness  on  her  money,  and  that  he  must  be  doing  some- 
thing. And  I  know  that  he  kept  up  the  house  in  Oporto, 


320  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

while  she  kept  up  her  place  in  the  country.  He  told  me  that 
the  sum  he  had  sent  over  was  ^20,000.  That  will  be  enough 
to  live  on,  won't  it?  " 

"Plenty,"  Terence  laughed.  "I  had  no  idea  that  I  was 
rescuing  such  an  heiress.  I  was  sure  that  there  was  no 
chance  of  your  getting  your  mother's  money,  at  any  rate,  as 
long  as  the  bishop  was  leader  of  Oporto.  However  just  your 
claim,  no  judge  would  decide  in  your  favour. ' ' 

"  Now  tell  me  about  yourself,  Terence,  and  your  home  in 
Ireland,  and  all  about  it." 

"  My  home  has  been  the  regiment,  Mary.  My  father  has 
a  few  hundred  acres  in  County  Mayo,  and  a  tumble-down 
house ;  that  is  to  say,  it  was  a  tumble-down  house  when  I  saw 
it  four  years  ago,  but  it  had  been  shut  up  for  a  good  many 
years,  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  it  has  quite  tumbled 
down  now.  However,  my  father  was  always  talking  of  going 
to  live  there  when  he  left  the  army.  The  land  is  not  worth 
much,  I  think.  There  are  five  hundred  acres,  and  they  let 
for  about  a  hundred  a  year.  However,  my  father  has  been  in 
the  regiment  now  for  about  eighteen  years;  and  as  I  was 
born  in  barracks  I  have  only  been  three  or  four  times  to  Bal- 
linagra,  and  then  only  because  father  took  a  fancy  to  have  a 
look  at  the  old  house.  My  mother  died  when  I  was  ten  years 
old,  and  I  ran  almost  wild  until  I  got  my  commission  last 
June." 

"And  how  did  you  come  to  be  a  staff-officer  of  the  Eng- 
lish general  ?  ' '  she  asked. 

"  I  have  had  awfully  good  luck,"  Terence  replied.  "  It 
happened  in  all  sorts  of  ways." 

"  Please  tell  me  everything,"  she  said.  "  I  want  to  know 
all  about  you." 

"  It  is  a  long  story,  Mary." 

"So  much  the  better,"  she  said.     "I  know  nothing  of 


MARY  O'CONNOR  321 

what  has  passed  for  the  last  year,  and  I  dare  say  I  shall  learn 
about  it  from  your  story.  You  don't  know  how  happy  I  am 
feeling  to  be  out  in  the  sun  and  in  the  air  again,  and  to  see 
the  country  after  being  shut  up  in  one  room  for  a  year. 
Suppose  we  sit  down  here  and  you  tell  me  the  whole  story. ' ' 

Terence  accordingly  related  the  history  of  his  adventures 
since  he  had  left  England.  The  girl  asked  a  great  many 
questions,  and  specially  insisted  upon  hearing  his  own  advent- 
ures very  fully. 

"It  is  no  use  your  keeping  on  saying  that  it  is  all  luck,M 
she  said  when  he  had  finished.  ' '  Your  colonel  could  not 
have  thought  that  it  was  luck  when  he  wrote  the  report  about 
that  adventure  at  sea,  and  your  general  could  not  have 
thought  so,  either,  or  he  would  not  have  praised  you  in  his 
despatch.  Then,  you  know,  General  Fane  must  have  thought 
that  it  was  quite  out  of  the  way  or  he  would  not  have  chosen 
you  to  be  on  his  staff.  Then  afterwards  the  other  general 
must  have  been  pleased  with  you,  or  he  would  not  have  put 
you  on  his  staff  and  sent  you  off  on  a  mission  to  General  Ro- 
mana.  It  is  quite  certain  that  these  things  could  not  have  been 
all  luck,  Terence.  And  anyhow,  you  cannot  pretend  that 
it  was  luck  that  this  regiment  of  yours  fought  so  well  against 
the  French,  while  none  of  the  others  seem  to  have  fought  at 
all.  I  suppose  that  you  will  say  next  that  it  was  all  luck  that 
you  got  me  out  of  the  convent." 

"  There  was  a  great  deal  of  luck  in  it,  Mary.  If  that  cow- 
ardly bishop  hadn't  left  Oporto  secretly,  after  declaring  that 
he  would  defend  it  until  the  last,  I  could  never  have  got  his 
ring." 

"You  would  have  got  me  out  some  other  way  if  he 
hadn't,"  the  girl  said,  with  confidence.  "No,  Terence,  you 
can  say  what  you  like,  but  I  shall  always  consider  that  you 
have  been  wonderfully  brave  and  clever." 


21 


322  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"Then  you  will  always  think  quite  wrong,"  Terence  said, 
bluntly. 

"  I  shall  begin  to  think  that  you  are  a  tyrant,  like  the 
Bishop  of  Oporto,  if  you  speak  in  that  positive  way.  How 
old  are  you,  sir?  " 

"  I  was  sixteen  six  months  ago." 

"And  I  was  sixteen  three  days  ago,"  she  said.  "Fancy 
your  commanding  two  thousand  soldiers  and  only  six  months 
older  than  I  am." 

"It  is  not  I,  it  is  the  uniform,"  Terence  said.  "They 
obey  me  when  they  won't  obey  their  own  officers,  because  I 
am  on  the  English  general's  staff.  They  know  that  we  have 
thrashed  the  French,  and  that  their  own  officers  know  nothing 
at  all  about  fighting,  and  they  have  no  respect  whatever  for 
them.  More  than  that,  they  despise  them  because  they  know 
that  they  are  always  intriguing,  and  that  really,  although 
they  may  be  called  generals,  they  are  but  politicians.  You  will 
see,  when  they  get  English  officers  to  discipline  them,  they 
will  turn  out  capital  soldiers ;  but  they  think  so  little  of  their 
own,  that  if  anything  goes  wrong  their  first  idea  is  that  their 
officers  must  be  traitors,  and  so  fall  upon  them  and  murder 
them. 

"  You  look  older  than  I  do,  Mary.  You  seem  to  me  quite 
a  woman,  while,  in  spite  of  my  uniform  and  my  command, 
and  all  that,  I  am  really  only  a  boy." 

"  I  suppose  I  am  almost  a  woman,  Terence,  but  I  don't 
feel  so.  You  see  out  here  girls  often  marry  at  sixteen.  I 
know  father  said  once  that  he  hoped  I  shouldn't  marry  until  I 
was  eighteen,  and  that  he  wanted  to  keep  me  young.  I  never 
thought  about  getting  almost  a  woman  until  the  bishop  told 
me  one  day  that  if  I  chose  to  marry  a  sefior  that  he  would 
choose  for  me,  he  would  get  me  absolution  from  my  vows, 
and  that  I  need  not  then  resign  my  property." 


MARY  o* CONNOR  323 

"The  old  blackguard!"  Terence  exclaimed,  angrily. 
"And  what  did  you  say  to  him?  " 

"  I  said  that,  in  the  first  place,  I  had  never  thought  of 
marrying;  that  in  the  second  place,  I  had  not  taken  any 
vows ;  and  in  the  third  place  that  when  I  did  marry  I  would 
choose  for  myself.  He  got  into  a  terrible  rage,  and  said  that 
I  was  an  obstinate  heretic,  and  that  some  day  when  I  was 
tired  of  my  prison  I  would  think  better  of  it." 

"  I  would  have  hit  the  bishop  hard  if  I  had  known  about 
that,"  Terence  grumbled.  "  If  ever  I  fall  in  with  him  again 
I  will  pay  him  out  for  it.  Well,  anyhow,  I  may  as  well  take 
off  his  ring ;  it  might  lead  to  awkward  questions  if  anyone 
noticed  it." 

"  I  think  that  you  had  certainly  better  do  so,  Terence;  it 
might  cost  you  your  life.  The  bishop  is  a  bad  man,  and  he  is 
a  very  dangerous  enemy.  If  he  heard  that  an  English  officer 
was  wearing  an  episcopal  ring,  and  upon  inquiring  found  that 
that  officer  had  been  in  Oporto  at  its  capture,  he  would  know 
at  once  that  it  was  you  who  assaulted  him,  and  he  would  never 
rest  until  he  had  your  life.  You  had  better  throw  it  away." 

"  All  right,  here  goes  !  "  Terence  said,  carelessly,  and  he 
threw  the  ring  into  a  clump  of  bushes.  "  Now,  Mary,  it  is 
getting  dark,  and  I  should  think  supper  must  be  waiting  for  us. ' ' 

"  Yes,  it  is  late ;  we  have  been  a  long  while,  indeed,"  the 
girl  said,  getting  up  hastily.  "  I  forgot  all  about  time." 

"We  are  in  plenty  of  time,"  Terence  said,  looking  at  his 
watch.  "  As  we  all  had  some  cold  meat  for  lunch  as  soon  as 
we  arrived,  I  ordered  dinner  at  six  o'clock,  and  it  wants 
twenty  minutes  of  that  time  now." 

"It  is  shocking,  according  to  our  Portuguese  ideas,"  she 
said,  demurely,  "  for  a  young  lady  and  gentleman  to  be  talk- 
ing together  for  nearly  three  hours  without  anyone  to  look 
after  them." 


324        WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"  It  is  not  at  all  shocking,  according  to  Irish  ideas,"  Terence 
said,  laughing,  "  especially  when  the  young  lady  and  gentle- 
man happen  to  be  cousins." 

They  walked  a  short  time  in  silence,  then  she  said : 

"  I  have  obeyed  you,  Terence,  and  haven't  uttered  a  word 
of  thanks  for  what  you  have  done  for  me." 

"  That  shows  that  you  are  a  good  girl,"  Terence  laughed. 

"  Good  girls  always  do  as  they  are  told  ;  at  least  they  are 
supposed  to,  though  as  to  the  fact  I  never  had  any  experience, 
for  I  have  no  sisters,  and  there  were  no  girls  in  barracks ; 
still,  I  am  glad  that  you  kept  your  promise,  and  hope  that  you 
will  always  do  so.  Being  a  cousin,  of  course  it  was  natural 
that  I  should  try  to  rescue  you." 

"  And  you  would  not  if  I  hadn't  been  a  cousin  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  say  that.  I  dare  say  I  should  have  tried  the 
same  if  I  had  heard  that  any  English  or  Irish  girl  was  shut  up 
here.  I  am  sure  I  should  if  I  had  seen  you  beforehand." 

She  coloured  a  little  at  the  compliment,  and  said,  lightly  : 
"  Father  told  me  once  that  Irishmen  were  great  hands  at 
compliments.  He  told  me  that  there  was  some  stone  that 
people  went  to  an  old  castle  to  kiss — I  think  that  he  called  it 
the  Blarney  Stone — and  after  that  they  were  able  to  say  all 
sorts  of  absurd  things." 

"  I  have  never  kissed  the  Blarney  Stone,"  Terence  said, 
laughing.  "  If  I  wanted  to  kiss  anything,  it  would  be  some- 
thing a  good  deal  softer  than  that. ' ' 

They  were  now  entering  the  camp,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
they  arrived  at  the  tent. 

"  I  began  to  think  that  you  were  lost,  O'Connor,"  Herrara 
said,  as  they  came  up. 

"  We  had  a  lot  to  talk  about,"  Terence  replied.  "My 
cousin  has  been  insisting  upon  my  telling  her  my  whole 
history,  and  all  about  what  has  passed  here  since  she  was 


MARY  O'CONNOR  325 

shut  up  a  year  ago,  and,  as  you  may  imagine,  it  was  rather  a 
long  story." 

A  few  minutes  later  they  sat  down  on  the  ground  to  a  meal 
in  which  roast  pork  was  the  leading  feature. 

"This  is  what  we  call  in  England  a  picnic,  sefiora,"  Ter- 
ence said  to  Don  Jose's  wife. 

"  A  picnic,"  she  repeated;  "  what  does  that  mean?  It  is 
a  funny  word." 

"  I  have  no  idea  why  it  should  be  called  so,"  Terence  said. 
"It  means  an  open-air  party.  The  ladies  are  supposed  to 
bring  the  provisions,  and  the  gentlemen  the  wine.  Some- 
times it  is  a  boating  party;  at  other  times  they  drive  in  car- 
riages to  the  spot  agreed  upon.  It  is  always  very  jolly,  and 
much  better  than  a  formal  meal  indoors,  and  you  can  play  all 
sorts  of  tricks." 

"  What  sort  of  tricks,  senor  ?  " 

"  Oh,  there  are  lots  of  them.  I  was  always  having  fun 
before  I  became  an  officer.  My  father  was  one  of  the  captains 
of  the  regiment,  and  I  was  generally  in  for  any  amusement 
that  there  was.  Once  at  a  picnic,  I  remember  that  I  got 
hold  of  the  salt-cellars  and  mustard-pots  beforehand,  and  I 
filled  up  one  with  powdered  Epsom  salts,  which  are  horribly 
nasty,  you  know,  and  I  mixed  the  mustard  with  cayenne 
pepper.  Nobody  could  make  out  what  had  happened  to  the 
food.  They  soon  suspected  the  mustard,  but  nobody  thought 
of  the  salt  for  a  long  time.  The  colonel  was  furious  over  it, 
but  fortunately  they  could  not  prove  that  I  had  any  hand  in 
the  matter,  though  I  know  that  they  suspected  me,  for  I  did 
not  get  an  invitation  to  a  picnic  for  a  long  time  afterwards." 

The  three  girls  laughed,  but  Don  Jose  said,  seriously : 
"  But  you  would  have  got  into  terrible  trouble  if  you  had 
been  found  out,  would  you  not  ?  " 

"I should  have  got  a  licking,  no  doubt,  senor;  but  I  was 


326  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

pretty  accustomed  to  that,  and  it  did  not  trouble  me  in  any 
way.  At  any  rate,  it  did  not  cure  me  of  my  love  for  mischief. 
I  am  afraid  I  never  shall  be  cured  of  that.  I  used  to  have  no 
end  of  fun  in  the  regiment,  and  I  think  that  it  did  us  all  good. 
It  takes  some  thinking  to  work  out  a  bit  of  mischief  properly, 
and  I  suppose  if  one  can  think  one  thing  out  well,  one  can 
think  out  another. ' ' 

"  It  seems  to  have  succeeded  well  in  your  case,  anyhow," 
Herrara  laughed.  "  Perhaps  if  it  had  not  been  for  your  play- 
ing that  trick  at  the  picnic  you  would  never  have  taken  com- 
mand of  that  mob,  and  we  should  never  have  gone  to  Oporto, 
and  my  friends  and  your  cousin  would  be  there  now — that  is, 
if  they  had  not  been  killed." 

"It  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  it,"  Terence  ad- 
mitted. 

"  And  now,  senor,"  Don  Jose  said,  "  which  way  are  you 
going  to  take  us  ?  " 

"We  shall  go  straight  on  to  Coimbra,"  Terence  said, 
"  unless  we  come  upon  a  British  force  before  that.  Two  long 
days'  march  will  take  us  there.  After  that  I  must  do  as  I  am 
ordered ;  my  independent  command  will  come  to  an  end 
there.  I  hope  that  I  shall  soon  hear  that  my  regiment  has  re- 
turned from  England." 

"  And  what  is  to  become  of  me?  I  have  not  thought  of 
asking,"  Mary  O'Connor  said. 

"  That  must  depend  upon  circumstances,  Mary.  If  I  go 
down  to  Lisbon,  I  hope  that  we  shall  all  travel  together,  and 
I  can  then  put  you  on  board  a  transport  returning  to  England. 
I  am  sure  to  find  letters  from  my  father  there,  telling  me 
where  he  is  and  whether  he  is  coming  back  with  the  regiment." 

"We  shall  be  very  happy,  senor,"  Don  Jose  said,  courte- 
ously, "to  take  charge  of  the  senora,  until  there  is  an 
opportunity  for  sending  her  to  England.  I  have,  of  course, 


MARY  O'CONNOR  32? 

many  friends  in  Lisbon,  and  shall  take  a  house  there  the 
instant  I  arrive,  and  Donna  O'Connor  will  be  as  one  of  my 
own  family." 

"  I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you,  Don  Jose.  I  have  been 
wondering  all  day  as  I  rode  along  what  I  should  do  with  my 
cousin  if,  as  is  probable,  I  am  obliged  to  stay  at  Coimbra 
until  I  receive  orders  from  Lisbon.  Your  kind  offer  relieves 
me  of  a  great  anxiety.  I  think  that  it  will  be  prudent  for 
her  to  take  another  name  while  she  is  at  Lisbon.  There  will 
certainly  be  no  inquiries  after  her,  for  the  lady  superior  of 
her  convent  will,  of  course,  conclude  that  she  was  accidentally 
separated  from  the  others  in  the  crush,  and  that  she  was 
trampled  on,  or  killed  ;  and,  indeed,  there  will  be  such  con- 
fusion in  Oporto  that  the  loss  of  a  nun  more  or  less  would 
fail  to  attract  attention.  At  any  rate,  it  is  likely  to  be  a  long 
time  before  any  report  the  lady  superior  will  make  to  the 
bishop  will  reach  him — months,  perhaps,  for  she  is  not  likely 
to  take  any  particular  pains  to  tell  him  news  that  would  cer- 
tainly anger  him. 

"  Still,  if  he  goes  to  Lisbon,  as  no  doubt  he  will,  and  by 
any  chance  happens  to  hear  that  Miss  O'Connor  was  one  of 
those  who  had  escaped  from  the  sack  of  Oporto,  he  might 
make  inquiries,  and  then  all  sorts  of  trouble  might  arise,  even 
if  he  did  not  have  her  carried  off  by  force,  which  would  be 
easy  enough  in  a  place  so  disturbed  as  Lisbon  at  present  is." 

"  I  think  that  you  are  right,  sefior,"  Don  Jose  said,  gravely. 
"  At  any  rate  it  would  be  as  well  to  avoid  any  risk.  What 
name  shall  we  call  her  ?  ' ' 

"  You  can  call  her  Miss  Dillon,  sefior,  that  is  the  name  of 
an  officer  in  our  regiment." 

"  But  the  bishop  might  meet  her  in  the  street  by  chance; 
what  then?" 

"  I  don't  think  that  he  would  know  me,"  Mary  O'Connor 


WITH    MOORE    AT   CORUNNA 

put  in.  "I  have  seen  him,  but  I  don't  suppose  that  he  ever 
noticed  me  until  he  saw  me  in  my  nun's  dress,  and,  of 
course,  I  look  very  different  now.  Still,  he  is  very  sharp, 
and  I  will  take  good  care  never  to  go  out  without  a  veil." 

"That  will  be  the  safest  plan,  Mary,"  Terence  said, 
"though  I  don't  think  anyone  would  recognize  you.  Of 
course,  he  supposes  that  you  are  still  snugly  shut  up  in  the 
convent ;  still,  it  is  just  as  well  not  to  run  the  slightest 
risk." 

They  made  two  long  marches  and  reached  Coimbra  early 
on  the  third  morning,  bringing  the  first  news  that  had  been 
received  there  of  the  storming  of  Oporto.  Terence  at  once 
reported  himself  to  the  commanding  officer. 

"  I  was  wondering  where  these  two  regiments  came  from, 
Mr.  O'Connor,"  the  colonel  said.  "I  watched  them  march 
in,  and  thought  that  they  were  the  most  orderly  body  that  I 
have  seen  since  we  came  out  here.  Whose  corps  are  they  ?  " 

"  Well,  Colonel,  they  are  my  corps.  I  will  tell  you  about 
it  presently  ;  it  is  a  long  story." 

"  How  strong  are  they  ?  " 

"  The  field  state  this  morning  made  them  two  thousand 
three  hundred  and  fifty-five.  They  were  two  thousand  five 
hundred  to  begin  with  ;  the  rest  are  either  killed  or  wounded." 

"  Oh,  you  have  had  some  fighting  then." 

"  We  have  had  our  share,  at  any  rate,  Colonel,  and  I  think 
I  can  venture  to  say  that  no  other  Portuguese  corps  shows  so 
good  a  record." 

"We  have  a  large  number  of  tents  in  store,  and  I  will 
order  a  sufficient  number  to  be  served  out  to  put  all  your  men 
under  canvas,  with  the  understanding  that  if  the  army  ad- 
vances this  way  the  tents  must  be  handed  back  to  us.  There 
are  quantities  of  uniforms  also.  There  have  been  ship-loads 
sent  over  for  the  use  of  the  Portuguese  militia,  who  were  to 


MARY  O'CONNOR  329 

turn  out  in  their  hundreds  of  thousands,  but  who  have  yet  to 
be  discovered.  Would  you  like  some  of  them  ?  " 

"  Very  much,  indeed,  Colonel.  It  would  add  very  greatly 
to  their  appearance ;  though,  as  far  as  fighting  goes,  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  I  could  wish  nothing  better. ' ' 

"  Really  !  Then  all  I  can  say  is  you  have  made  a  very  valu- 
able discovery.  Hitherto  the  fighting  powers  of  the  Portu- 
guese have  been  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  But  if  you  have 
found  that  they  really  will  fight  under  some  circumstances, 
we  may  hope  that,  now  Lord  Beresford  has  come  out  to  take 
command  of  the  Portuguese  army,  and  is  going  to  have  a 
certain  number  of  British  officers  to  train  and  command  them, 
they  will  be  of  some  utility,  instead  of  being  simply  a  scourge 
to  the  country  and  a  constant  drain  on  our  purse. ' ' 

"  Have  you  heard  that  Oporto  is  captured,  sir?  " 

"  No,  you  don't  say  so  !  " 

"  Captured  in  less  than  an  hour  from  the  time  that  the  first 
gun  was  fired." 

"Just  what  I  expected.  When  you  have  political  bishops 
who  not  only  pretend  to  govern  a  country,  but  also  assume 
the  command  of  armies,  how  can  it  be  otherwise  ?  However, 
you  shall  tell  me  about  it  presently.  I  will  go  down  with 
you  at  once  to  the  stores  and  order  the  issue  of  the  tents  and 
uniforms.  My  orders  were  that  the  uniforms  were  to  be 
served  out  to  militia  and  ordenan9as;  under  which  head  do 
your  men  come  ? ' ' 

"  The  latter,  sir  ;  that  is  what  they  really  were,  but  they 
hung  the  three  men  the  Junta  sent  to  command  them,  and 
placed  themselves  in  my  hands,  and  I  have  done  the  best 
I  could  with  them,  with  the  assistance  of  Lieutenant  Herrara — 
who,  as  you  may  remember,  accompanied  me  in  charge  of  the 
escort — and  my  own  two  troopers  and  his  men,  and  between 
us  we  have  really  done  much  in  the  way  of  disciplining  them." 


330  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

Two  hours  later  the  tents  were  pitched  on  a  spot  half  a  mile 
distant  from  the  town.  By  the  time  that  this  was  done  the  carts 
with  the  uniforms  came  up,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  men. 

"  I  have  to  go  to  the  commandant  again  now,  Herrara; 
let  the  uniforms  be  served  out  to  the  men  at  once.  Tell  the 
captains  to  see  to  their  fitting  as  well  as  possible.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  colonel  will  come  down  to  inspect  them  this 
afternoon,  and  will  probably  bring  a  good  many  officers  with 
him,  so  we  must  make  as  good  a  show  as  possible." 

Herrara' s  friends  and  Mary  O'Connor  had,  on  arriving  at 
Coimbra,  hired  rooms,  as  Don  Jose  had  determined  to  stay 
for  a  few  days  before  going  on,  because  his  wife  had  been 
much  shaken  by  the  events  that  had  taken  place,  and  his 
eldest  daughter  was  naturally  anxious  to  wait  until  she  knew 
whether  Herrara  would  be  able  to  return  to  Lisbon,  or  would 
remain  with  the  corps.  By  the  time  Terence  returned  to  the 
colonel's  quarters  it  was  lunch  time. 

"  You  must  come  across  to  mess,  Mr.  O'Connor,"  the  com- 
mandant said.  "Everyone  is  anxious  to  hear  your  news,  and 
it  will  save  your  going  over  it  twice  if  you  will  tell  it  after 
lunch.  I  fancy  every  officer  in  the  camp  will  be  there." 


CHAPTER   XIX 

CONFIRMED    IN    COMMAND 

TERENCE,  after  lunch  was  over,  first  related  to  the  officers 
all  that  he  knew  of  the  siege  of  Oporto,  explaining  why 
he  did  not  choose  to  sacrifice  the  men  under  him  by  joining 
the  undisciplined  rabble  in  the  intrenchments,  but  determined 
to  keep  the  head  of  the  bridge.  They  listened  with  breathless 
interest  to  his  narrative  of  the  attack  and  capture  of  Oporto. 


CONFIRMED    IN   COMMAND  331 

"  But  how  was  it  that  that  fifty-gun  battery  did  not  knock 
the  bridge  to  pieces  when  the  French  tried  to  cross?  " 

"  That  is  more  than  I  can  say,  Colonel.  I  should  fancy  that 
they  were  so  terrified  at  the  utter  rout  on  the  other  side,  which 
they  could  see  well  enough,  for  they  had  a  view  right  over  the 
town  to  the  intrenchments,  that  they  simply  fired  wildly. 
I  don't  believe  a  single  ball  hit  the  bridge,  though,  of 
course,  they  ought  to  have  sunk  a  dozen  boats  in  a  couple 
of  minutes.  My  men  could  have  held  it  for  days,  though 
they  were  suffering  somewhat  from  the  fire  of  two  of  the 
French  field  batteries;  but  I  found  that  no  steps  whatever 
had  been  taken  to  remove  the  boats  from  the  other  side. 
There  were  great  numbers  of  them  all  along  the  bank,  and 
the  enemy  could  have  crossed  a  mile  higher  up,  at  the  spot 
where  I  took  my  men  over,  and  so  fallen  on  our  rear,  therefore 
I  withdrew  to  save  them  from  being  cut  up  or  captured 
uselessly. ' ' 

"  Now  tell  us  about  those  troops  of  yours,  O'Connor." 

Terence  gave  a  somewhat  detailed  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  took  the  command  and  of  the  subsequent  operations, 
being  desirous  of  doing  justice  to  Herrara  and  his  troopers, 
and  to  his  own  two  orderlies.  There  was  much  laughter 
among  the  officers  at  his  assumption  of  command,  and  at  the 
subsequent  steps  he  took  to  form  his  mob  of  men  into  an 
orderly  body ;  but  interest  took  the  place  of  amusement  as  he 
told  how  they  had  prevented  the  French  from  crossing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Minho,  and  caused  Soult  to  take  the  circuitous 
and  difficult  route  by  Orense.  His  subsequent  defence  of  the 
defile  and  the  night  attack  upon  the  French,  surprised  them 
much,  and  when  he  brought  his  story  to  a  conclusion  there 
were  warm  expressions  of  approval  among  his  hearers. 

"I  must  congratulate  you  most  heartily,  Mr.  O'Connor," 
the  colonel  said.  "What  seemed  at  first  a  very  wild  and 


332  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

hare-brained  enterprise,  if  you  don't  mind  my  saying  so, 
certainly  turned  out  a  singular  success.  It  would  have 
seemed  almost  impossible  that  you,  a  young  ensign,  should 
be  able  to  exercise  any  authority  over  a  great  body  of  mere 
peasants,  who  have  everywhere  shown  themselves  utterly  in- 
subordinate and  useless  under  their  native  officers.  It  is 
nothing  short  of  astonishing;  and  it  is  most  gratifying  to 
find  that  the  Portuguese  should,  under  an  English  officer,  de- 
velop fighting  powers  far  beyond  anything  with  which  they 
have  been  hitherto  credited.  What  are  you  going  to  do 
now?" 

"I  was  intending  to  send  my  despatches  onto  Sir  John 
Cradock,  and  wait  here  for  orders." 

"  I  think  that  you  had  better  take  your  despatches  on  your- 
self, Mr.  O'Connor.  I  do  not  suppose  that  they  are  anything 
like  so  full  as  the  story  you  have  told  us,  which,  I  am  sure, 
would  be  of  as  much  interest  to  the  general  as  it  has  been  to 
us." 

"  I  will  do  so,  sir,  and  will  start  this  evening.  My  horse 
had  three  days'  rest  at  Villa  Nova,  and  is  quite  fit  to  travel." 

"  You  must  be  feeling  terribly  anxious  about  your  cousin," 
the  officer  who  had  first  told  him  about  her  remarked ;  ' '  there 
is  no  saying  what  may  have  happened  in  Oporto  after  it  was 
stormed." 

"  I  should  indeed  be,  if  she  were  there,"  Terence  replied; 
"  but  I  am  happy  to  say  that  she  is  at  present  in  Coimbra, 
having  travelled  with  us  under  the  charge  of  some  Portuguese 
ladies,  friends  of  Herrara. ' ' 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  persuaded  the  bishop  to 
let  her  out  of  the  convent  ?  " 

"  Scarcely,"  Terence  laughed,  "  though  the  bishop  did  un- 
wittingly aid  me." 

"I  congratulate  you  on  getting  her  out,"  the  colonel  said. 


CONFIRMED    IN    COMMAND  333 

"  Travers  was  telling  us  the  day  after  you  left  what  a  curious 
coincidence  it  was  that  the  nun  who  threw  him  out  a  letter 
should  turn  out  to  be  a  cousin  of  yours.  Will  you  tell  us  how 
you  managed  it?  " 

"  I  don't  mind  telling  it,  sir,  if  all  here  will  promise  not  to 
repeat  it.  The  Bishop  of  Oporto  is  a  somewhat  formidable 
person,  and  were  he  to  lodge  a  complaint  against  me  he 
might  get  me  into  serious  trouble,  and  is  perfectly  capable 
of  having  me  stabbed  some  dark  night  in  the  streets  of  Lis- 
bon ;  therefore,  I  think  it  would  be  as  well  to  omit  any  de- 
tails of  the  share  he  played  in  the  matter.  Without  that  the 
story  is  simple  enough.  Having  got  a  boat  with  two  men  in 
it  at  the  end  of  the  street  in  which  stood  the  convent,  I  went 
there  in  the  dress  of  an  ecclesiastic,  just  as  the  French  burst 
into  the  town.  The  bishop  had  fled  on  the  night  before  to 
the  Serra  Convent  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  I  was 
able  to  produce  an  authority  from  him  which  satisfied  the 
lady  superior  that  I  was  the  bearer  of  his  order  for  her  and 
the  nuns  to  make  for  the  bridge,  and  to  cross  the  river  at 
once. 

"  Of  course,  I  accompanied  them.  The  crowd  was  great 
and  they  naturally  got  separated.  In  the  confusion  my  order- 
lies managed  to  get  my  cousin  out  of  the  crowd,  and  took  her 
straight  to  the  boat.  As  soon  as  I  saw  that  they  had  gone,  I 
persuaded  the  lady  superior  to  take  the  rest  of  the  nuns  back 
to  the  convent  at  once,  as  the  bridge  was  by  this  time  broken, 
and  the  French  had  made  their  appearance.  She  got  the 
nuns  together  and  made  off  with  them  as  fast  as  they  could 
run,  and  after  seeing  that  they  were  all  nearly  back  to  their 
convent  without  any  signs  of  the  French  being  near,  I  joined 
the  others  in  the  boat,  and  we  rowed  across  the  river.  It  was 
a  simple  business  altogether,  though  at  first  it  seemed  very 
hopeless." 


334  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"  Especially  to  get  the  authority  of  the  bishop,"  the  col- 
onel said,  with  a  smile. 

"  That  certainly  seemed  the  most  hopeless  part  of  the  busi- 
ness," Terence  replied;  "  but  happily  I  was  able  to  manage 
it  somehow." 

"  Well,  you  certainly  have  had  a  most  remarkable  series 
of  adventures,  Mr.  O'Connor.  Now  we  will  go  and  inspect 
your  corps.  Of  course  they  will  be  rationed  while  they  are 
here,  and  will  be  under  my  general  orders  until  I  hear  from 
Cradock." 

"  Quite  so,  Colonel ;  I  am  sure  they  will  be  proud  of  be- 
ing inspected  by  you.  Of  course,  they  are  unable  to  do  any 
complicated  manoeuvres,  but  those  they  do  know  they  know 
pretty  thoroughly,  and  can  do  them  in  a  rough  and  ready 
way  that  for  actual  work  is,  I  think,  just  as  good  as  a  parade- 
ground  performance.  I  will  go  on  ahead,  sir,  and  form  them 
Up." 

"  I  would  rather,  if  you  don't  mind,  that  they  should  have 
no  warning,"  the  colonel  said  ;  "  we  will  just  go  down  quiet- 
ly, and  see  how  quickly  they  can  turn  out." 

"  Very  well,  sir." 

All  there  expressed  their  wish  to  go,  and  as  all  were  pro- 
vided with  horses  or  ponies  of  some  kind,  in  ten  minutes  they 
rode  off  in  a  body.  His  officers  had  been  very  busy  all  the 
time  that  Terence  had  been  away,  serving  out  the  uniforms 
and  seeing  that  they  were  properly  put  on.  The  work  was 
just  over,  and  the  men  were  sauntering  about  round  their 
tents  when  the  party  arrived.  Herrara  came  up  and  saluted. 
He  was  known  to  the  colonel,  as  he  had  dined  with  Terence 
at  the  mess  on  their  way  through. 

After  a  few  words,  Terence  said  to  Herrara  : 

"  Have  the  assembly  blown,  and  let  the  men  fall  in." 

Herrara  walked  back  to  the  tents,  and  a  moment  later  a 


CONFIRMED    IN    COMMAND  335 

horn  blew.  It  had  an  uncouth  sound,  and  bore  no  resem- 
blance to  the  ordinary  call,  but  it  was  promptly  obeyed.  The 
men  snatched  their  muskets  from  the  piles  in  front  of  the 
tents,  and  in  a  wonderfully  short  time  the  whole  were  formed 
up  in  their  ranks,  stiff  and  immovable. 

"  Excellently  done  !  "  the  colonel  said ;  "no  British  regi- 
ment could  have  fallen  in  more  smartly." 

Accompanied  by  Terence,  and  followed  by  the  rest  of  the 
officers,  he  rode  along  the  line.  The  evening  before  Terence 
had  impressed  upon  the  captains  of  companies  the  necessity 
for  having  the  rifles  perfectly  clean,  as  they  were  about  to  join 
a  British  camp,  so  that  the  pieces  were  all  in  perfect  order. 
When  the  inspection  was  over  the  mounted  group  drew  off  a 
little. 

"  The  troops  will  form  up  in  columns  of  companies,"  Ter- 
ence said,  and  Bull  and  Mac  witty,  who  were  at  the  head  of 
their  respective  regiments,  gave  the  orders.  The  movements 
were  well  executed.  The  men,  proud  of  their  uniform,  and 
on  their  mettle  at  being  inspected  by  British  officers,  did 
their  best,  and  that  best  left  little  to  be  desired.  After  march- 
ing past,  they  formed  into  company  squares  to  resist  cavalry, 
then  retired  by  alternate  companies,  and  then  formed  into 
line. 

"  Excellently  done  !  "  said  the  colonel.  "  Indeed,  I  can 
hardly  believe  it  possible  that  a  party  of  peasants  have  in  a 
month's  time  been  formed  into  a  body  of  good  soldiers.  I 
should  like  the  officers  to  come  up." 

"Call  the  officers." 

There  was  an  officers'  call,  and  this  now  sounded,  and  the 
twelve  captains  with  their  two  majors  rode  to  the  front  and 
saluted.  i(  Mr.  Herrara,"  the  colonel  said,  "  I  have  seen  with 
surprise  and  the  greatest  satisfaction  the  movements  of  the 
men  under  you ;  they  do  you  the  greatest  credit,  and  I  shall 


336  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

have  pleasure  in  sending  in  a  most  favourable  report  to  the 
general,  the  result  of  my  inspection  of  the  regiments.  I  hear 
from  Mr.  O'Connor  that  your  men  have  shown  themselves 
capable  of  holding  their  own  against  the  French,  and  I  can 
say  that  I  should  feel  perfectly  confident  in  going  into  action 
with  my  regiment  supported  by  such  brave  and  capable  troops. 
Would  that  instead  of  2,000  we  had  100,000  Portuguese  troops 
equally  to  be  trusted,  we  should  very  speedily  turn  the  French 
out  of  Portugal  and  drive  them  from  the  Peninsula." 

The  officers  bowed  and  rode  off.  The  troops  had  not  learned 
the  salute,  and  when  the  horn  sounded  they  were  at  once 
dismissed  drill. 

"  Well,  Mr.  O'Connoi,  I  must  congratulate  you  most  heartily 
on  what  you  have  done.  If  nothing  else,  you  have  added  to 
our  army  a  couple  of  strong  regiments  of  capable  soldiers. 
If  I  had  not  seen  it  myself  I  should  have  thought  it  impossible 
that  over  2,000  men  could  be  converted  into  soldiers  in  so 
short  a  time,  and  that  without  experienced  non-commissioned 
officers  to  work  them  up. ' ' 

Returning  to  Coimbra  with  the  colonel,  Terence  rode  to  the 
house  where  Herrara's  friends  had  taken  rooms,  and  told 
them  that  he  was  going  to  leave  them.  Don  Jose  at  once 
wrote  several  letters  of  introduction  to  influential  friends 
at  Lisbon,  telling  them  that  he  and  his  daughters  had  escaped 
from  the  sack  of  Oporto,  and  asking  them  to  show  every 
kindness  to  the  officer,  to  whom  they  chiefly  owed  their 
safety. 

Terence  meanwhile  returned  to  camp,  arranged  with  Her- 
rara  and  the  two  majors  that  everything  was  to  go  on  as  usual 
during  his  absence,  urging  them  to  work  hard  at  their  drill, 
and  to  impress  upon  the  men  the  necessity,  now  that  they 
were  in  uniform,  of  carrying  themselves  as  soldiers,  and  doing 
credit  to  their  corps. 


CONFIRMED    IN    COMMAND  337 

Five  days  later  he  arrived  at  Lisbon,  taking  with  him  a  re- 
port from  the  commandant  of  his  inspection  of  the  corps. 

"  I  had  begun  to  be  afraid  that  you  had  been  killed  or  taken 
prisoner,  Mr.  O'Connor,"  Sir  John  Cradock  said,  as  Terence 
presented  himself,  "or  that  you  must  have  fallen  back  with 
Romana  into  Spain.  He  seems  to  have  behaved  very  badly, 
for,  as  I  hear,  although  he  had  10,000  men  with  him,  half 
of  them  regular  troops,  he  retired  without  a  shot  being  fired — 
except  by  two  regiments  who  were  mauled  by  the  French 
cavalry — and  left  Silveira  in  the  lurch." 

"  I  was  on  other  business,  General,  and  I  fear  that  you  will 
think  that  I  exceeded  my  orders  ;  but  I  hope  that  you  will 
consider  that  the  result  has  justified  my  doing  so.  Will  you 
kindly  first  run  your  eye  over  this  report  by  the  officer  com- 
manding at  Coimbra  ?  ' ' 

Sir  John  Cradock  read  the  report  with  a  puzzled  expression 
efface,  then  he  said:  "But  what  regiments  are  these  that 
Colonel  Wilberforce  speaks  of  in  such  high  terms  ?  Were  they 
part  of  Romana's  force?  He  speaks  of  them  as  a  corps  under 
your  command,  and  as  being  2,300  strong." 

"  They  were  not  Romana's  men,  sir,  but  a  body  of  ordenan- 
cas,  of  whom,  as  my  report  will  inform  you,  I  came  by  a  com- 
bination of  circumstances  to  take  the  command,  appointing 
Lieutenant  Herrara,  who  commanded  my  escort,  colonel,  my 
two  orderlies  as  majors,  and  the  Portuguese  troopers  of  my 
escort  as  captains  of  companies.  We  have  been  several  times 
engaged  with  the  French,  and  I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of 
the  behaviour  of  officers  and  men." 

Sir  John  Cradock  burst  into  a  laugh.  "You  certainly  are 
a  cool  hand,  Mr.  O'Connor.  Assuredly  I  did  not  contemplate 
when  I  sent  you  off  that  you  would  return  as  colonel  of  two 
regiments. ' ' 

"  Nor  did  I,  sir.     But,  you  see,  you  gave  me  general  in- 

22 


338  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

structions  to  concert  measures  with  Romana  for  the  defence 
of  the  frontier.  I  saw  at  once  that  Romana  was  hopeless,  and 
was  therefore  myself  driven  to  take  these  measures.  As 
Oporto  has  fallen  I  cannot  say  they  were  successful,  but  at 
least  I  may  say  that  we  gave  Oporto  fourteen  days'  extra  time 
to  prepare  her  defence,  and  if  she  did  not  take  advantage  of 
the  time  it  was  not  my  fault." 

The  look  of  amusement  on  the  general's  face  turned  to  one 
of  interest. 

"  How  did  you  do  that,  sir  ?  " 

"  My  corps  prevented  Soult  from  crossing  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Minho,  General,  killing  some  two  hundred  of  his  men  and 
driving  his  boats  back  across  the  river.  When  the  French 
general  saw  that  he  could  not  cross  in  face  of  such  opposi- 
tion, he  was  obliged  to  march  his  army  round  by  Orense  and 
down  by  the  passes,  which  ought  to  have  been  successfully 
defended  by  the  Portuguese." 

"  That  was  good  service,  indeed,  Mr.  O'Connor.  I  received 
despatches  from  our  agents  at  Oporto,  saying  that  Soult's  land- 
ing had  been  repulsed  by  armed  peasants." 

"My  men  were  little  more  than  armed  peasants  then,  sir, 
though  they  had  had  a  few  days'  hard  drill ;  still,  a  British 
officer  would  scarcely  have  called  them  soldiers. ' ' 

"  Well,  I  think  that  Wilberforce's  report  shows  that  they 
have  a  right  to  that  title  now.  Take  a  seat,  Mr.  O'Connor, 
and  a  newspaper — there  are  some  that  arrived  two  days  ago — 
while  I  look  over  your  report. ' ' 

Terence  had  written  in  much  greater  detail  than  is  usual  in 
official  reports,  as  he  wished  the  general  to  see  how  well  the 
men  and  their  officers  had  behaved.  It  was  twenty  minutes 
before  the  general  finished  it. 

"A  very  remarkable  report,  Mr.  O'Connor;  very  remark- 
able. You  must  dine  with  me  this  evening.  I  have  many 


CONFIRMED   IN   COMMAND  339 

questions  to  ask  you  about  it,  and  also  about  the  storming  of 
Oporto,  of  which  we  have,  as  yet,  received  no  details,  al- 
though a  messenger  from  the  bishop  brought  us  the  news  some 
days  ago.  He  seems  to  have  made  a  terrible  mess  of  it." 

"  He  ought  to  be  hung,  sir  S  "  Terence  said,  indignantly. 
"After  getting  all  those  unfortunate  peasants  together  he 
sneaked  off  and  hid  himself  in  a  convent  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river,  on  the  very  night  before  the  French  attacked. ' ' 

"Unfortunately,  Mr.  O'Connor,  we  cannot  give  all  men 
their  deserts,  or  we  should  want  all  the  rope  on  board  the 
ships  in  the  harbour  for  the  purpose.  The  bishop  is  a  firebrand 
of  the  most  dangerous  kind  ;  and  I  suppose  we  shall  have  him 
here  in  a  day  or  two,  for  he  said  in  his  letter  that  he  was  on 
his  way.  There  is  one  comfort  :  he  will  be  too  busy  in  quar- 
relling with  the  authorities  to  have  any  time  to  spend  on  his 
quarrels  with  us.  Then  I  shall  see  you  in  an  hour's  time. 
Please  ask  Captain  Nelson  to  come  in  here ;  I  have  some  notes 
for  him  to  write." 

Terence  bowed  and  retired. 

"  What  a  nuisance  !  ' '  Captain  Nelson  said.  "  I  was  wanting 
to  hear  all  that  you  had  been  doing." 

"  I  am  to  dine  with  the  general,"  Terence  said.  "  Perhaps 
I  shall  meet  you  there. ' ' 

Captain  Nelson  found  that  he  was  wanted  to  write  notes 
of  invitation  to  such  of  the  officers  who  were  still  at  Lisbon 
as  had  dined  there  when  Terence  was  last  the  general's  guest ; 
and  as  the  general's  invitations  overrode  all  other  engagements, 
most  of  them  were  present  when  Terence  returned. 

"  Mr.  O'Connor  has  another  story  for  you,  gentlemen,"  the 
general  said,  when  the  cloth  was  removed  and  the  wine  put 
upon  the  table.  "  I  am  not  sure  whether  I  am  right  in  calling 
him  Mr.  O'Connor,  for  he  has  been  performing  the  duties  of 
a  colonel,  commanding  two  regiments  in  the  Portuguese  ser- 


340  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

vice.  I  will  preface  his  story  by  reading  the  report  of  Colonel 
Wilberforce,  commanding  at  Coimbra,  of  the  state  of  efficiency 
of  his  command." 

There  was  a  look  of  surprise  at  the  general's  remarks,  and 
that  surprise  was  greatly  heightened  on  the  reading  of  Colonel 
Wilber force's  report. 

"  Now,  Mr.  O'Connor,"  the  general  said,  when  he  had 
finished,  "  I  am  sure  that  we  shall  all  be  obliged  by  your  giv- 
ing us  a  detailed  statement  of  the  manner  in  which  you  raised 
those  regiments,  and  of  the  operations  that  you  undertook 
with  them  ;  and  the  more  details  you  give  us  the  better,  for 
it  is  well  that  we  should  understand  how  the  Portuguese  can 
be  best  handled.  I  may  say  at  once  that,  personally,  we  are 
greatly  indebted  to  you  for  having  proved  that,  when  even 
partially  disciplined  and  well  led,  they  are  capable  of  doing 
very  good  service,  a  fact  of  which,  I  own,  I  have  been  hith- 
erto very  doubtful." 

Smiles  were  exchanged  among  the  auditors  when  Terence 
described  the  manner  in  which  he  came  to  command  the  body 
of  undisciplined  ordenancas.  When  he  spoke  of  the  state  in 
which  he  found  Romana's  army,  and  the  reason  for  his  deter- 
mination to  keep  his  column  intact,  they  listened  more  atten- 
tively, and  exchanged  looks  of  surprise  when  he  described  his 
rapid  march  to  the  mouth  of  the  Minho,  and  the  repulse  of 
Soult's  attempt  to  cross  from  Tuy.  He  then  described  how 
he  had  joined  Silveira,  and  the  mutiny  of  that  general's  troops. 
Still  more  surprise  was  manifested  when  he  related  the  action 
in  the  defile  and  the  bravery  with  which  his  troops  had  be- 
haved, and  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  handled  by 
the  troopers  that  he  had  appointed  as  their  officers.  The 
night  attack  on  the  cavalry  and  infantry  of  the  head  of  Soult's 
column  was  equally  well  received.  His  reasons  for  not  joining 
the  army  at  Braga,  and  of  keeping  aloof  from  the  mob  of 


CONFIRMED  IN  COMMAND  341 

peasants  at  Oporto  were  as  much  approved  as  was  the  holding 
of  the  bridge  for  a  while,  and  his  reasons  for  withdrawing. 

"Well,  gentlemen,"  the  general  said,  when  Terence  had 
finished,  "  I  think  you  will  allow  that  my  aide-de-camp,  Mr. 
O'Connor,  has  given  a  good  account  of  himself,  and  that  if 
he  went  outside  my  orders,  his  doing  so  has  been  most  amply 
justified." 

"It  has,  indeed,  General,"  one  of  the  senior  officers  said, 
warmly.  "  I  can  answer  for  myself,  that  I  should  have  been 
proud  to  have  been  able  to  tell  such  a  story." 

A  murmur  of  approval  ran  round  the  table. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  Mr.  O'Connor's  readiness  to 
accept  responsibility,  or  the  manner  in  which,  in  the  short 
space  of  a  month,  he  turned  a  mob  of  peasants  into  regular 
soldiers,  or  the  quickness  with  which  he  marched  to  the  spot 
threatened  by  Soult,  and  so  compelled  him  to  entirely  change 
the  plan  of  his  campaign,  or  his  conduct  in  the  defence  of  the 
defile,  and  in  his  night  attack,  are  most  remarkable." 

"  I  should  wish  to  say,  General,  that  in  telling  this  story  I 
have  been  chiefly  anxious  to  do  justice  to  the  hearty  co-opera- 
tion of  Lieutenant  Herrara,  and  the  services  rendered  by  my 
own  two  orderlies  and  his  troopers.  By  myself,  I  could  have 
done  absolutely  nothing.  Their  work  was  hard  and  incessant, 
and  the  drill  and  discipline  of  the  troops  was  wholly  due  to 
them." 

"  I  understand,  Mr.  O'Connor  ;  it  is  quite  right  for  you  to 
say  so,  and  I  thoroughly  recognize  that  they  must  have  done 
good  service  ;  but  it  is  to  the  man  that  plans,  organizes,  and 
infuses  his  own  spirit  into  those  under  his  command,  that  ev- 
erything is  due.  Now,  Mr.  O'Connor,  I  think  I  will  ask  you 
to  leave  us  for  a  few  minutes  ;  the  case  is  rather  an  exceptional 
one,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  chat  the  matter  over  with  the  offi- 
cers present.  Well,  gentlemen,  what  do  you  think  that  we 


342  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

are  to  do  with  Mr.  O'Connor?  "  he  went  on,  with  a  smile,  as 
the  door  closed  behind  Terence. 

"  My  experience  affords  me  no  guide,  General,"  another  of 
the  senior  officers  said.  "It  is  simply  amazing  that  a  lad  of 
seventeen — I  suppose  he  is  not  much  over  that — should  have 
conceived  and  carried  out  such  a  plan.  It  sounds  like  a  piece 
of  old  knight-errantry.  Clive  did  as  much,  but  Clive  was 
some  years  older  when  he  first  became  'a  thorn  in  the  side  of 
the  French.  What  is  your  opinion,  sir?  " 

"  He  is  already  a  lieutenant,"  the  general  said.  "  I  sent 
home  a  strong  recommendation  that  he  should  be  promoted, 
when  he  was  last  here,  and  received  an  intimation  three  days 
ago  that  he  had  been  gazetted  lieutenant  and  transferred  to 
my  staff.  This  time  I  shall  simply  send  home  a  copy  of  the 
report  he  has  furnished  me  with,  and  that  of  Colonel  Wilber- 
force,  and  say  that  I  leave  the  reports  to  speak  for  themselves, 
but  that  in  my  opinion  it  is  a  case  altogether  exceptional. 
That  is  all  I  can  do  now.  The  question  of  course  is,  whether 
he  shall  return  to  staff  service  again,  or  shall  continue  in  com- 
mand of  the  corps  with  which  he  has  done  so  much.  If  he 
does  the  latter  he  must  have  local  rank,  otherwise  he  would 
be  liable  to  be  overruled  by  any  Portuguese  officer  of  superior 
rank.  I  think  that  the  best  way  would  be  to  send  a  copy  of 
the  reports  to  Lord  Beresford,  saying  that  my  opinion  is  very 
strong  that  Lieutenant  O'Connor  should  be  allowed  to  retain 
an  independent  command  of  the  corps  that  he  has  raised  and 
disciplined ;  and  that  I  will  either  myself  bestow  local  rank 
upon  him,  and  treat  the  corps  as  forming  a  part  of  the  British 
army,  like  that  of  Trant,  or  that  he  should  give  him  local  rank 
as  its  colonel,  in  which  case  he  would  operate  still  independ- 
ently, but  in  connection  with  Beresford's  own  force." 

"  I  should  almost  think  that  the  first  step  would  be  best, 
General,  if  I  might  say  so.  In  the  first  place,  Beresford  will 


CONFIRMED    IN    COMMAND  343 

have  any  number  of  irregular  parties  operating  with  him, 
while  such  a  corps  would  be  invaluable  to  us.  They  are 
capable  of  taking  long  marches,  they  know  the  mountains  and 
forests,  and  would  keep  us  supplied  with  news,  while  they 
harassed  the  enemy.  As  an  officer  on  your  staff,  O'Connor 
would  have  a  much  greater  power  among  the  Portuguese  pop- 
ulation than  he  would  have  on  his  own  account  in  their  own 
army,  and  he  would  be  very  much  less  likely  to  be  interfered 
with  by  the  leaders  of  other  parties  and  corps. ' ' 

"  Perhaps  that  would  be  the  best  way,  Colonel.  I  will  send 
the  reports  to  Beresford,  and  say  that  I  have  appointed  Lieu- 
tenant O'Connor  to  remain  in  command  of  this  corps,  which 
I  shall  attach  to  my  own  command  ;  and  saying  that  I  shall 
be  obliged  if  he  will  have  a  commission  made  out  for  him, 
giving  him  the  local  rank  of  colonel  in  the  Portuguese  army. 
Beresford  is  himself  a  gallant  soldier,  and  will  appreciate,  as 
you  do,  the  work  that  O'Connor  has  done  ;  and  as  he  knows 
nothing  of  the  lad's  age  he  will  comply,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
with  my  request.  I  shall,  in  writing  home,  strongly  recom- 
mend his  two  cavalrymen  for  commissions.  As  to  Herrara,  I 
shall  ask  Beresford  to  give  him  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel. 
I  shall  suggest  to  Beresford  that  his  troopers  should  all  receive 
commissions  in  his  army.  They  have  all  earned  them,  which 
is  more  than  I  can  say  of  any  other  Portuguese  soldiers,  so  far 
as  I  have  heard." 

Terence  was  then  called  in  again. 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  have  a  pleasant  piece  of  news  to  give 
you,  Mr.  O'Connor,  namely,  that  I  have  received  from  home 
an  official  letter,  that  on  my  recommendation  you  have  been 
gazetted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  and  transferred  to  my  staff ; 
in  the  second  place,  I  have  decided,  that  while  still  retaining 
you  on  my  staff,  you  will  be  continued  in  your  present  com- 
mand ;  I  shall  obtain  for  you  a  commission  as  colonel  in  the 


344  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

Portuguese  service,  but  your  corps  will  form  part  of  my  com- 
mand, and  act  with  the  British  army.  I  shall  request  Lord 
Beresford  to  appoint  Mr.  Herrara  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel,  and  shall  recommend  that  commissions  be  given  to  his 
troopers.  The  two  orderlies,  of  whose  services  you  spoke  so 
highly,  I  shall  recommend  for  commissions  in  our  army,  and 
shall  request  Lord  Beresford  to  give  them  local  rank  as  ma- 
jors.'7 

Terence  coloured  with  pleasure  and  confusion. 

"  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you,  General,"  he  said;  "but 
I  do  not  at  all  feel  that  the  services  that  I  have  tried  to 
perform ' ' 

"  That  is  for  me  to  judge,"  the  general  said,  kindly.  "All 
the  officers  here  quite  agree  with  me,  that  those  services  have 
been  very  marked  and  exceptional  and  are  at  one  with  me 
as  to  how  they  should  be  recognized.  Moreover,  in  obtain- 
ing for  you  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  Portuguese  army,  I  am 
not  only  recognizing  those  services,  but  am  adding  to  the 
power  that  you  will  have  of  rendering  further  services  to  the 
army.  Although  attached  to  our  forces,  you  will  receive  your 
colonel's  commission  from  Lord  Beresford,  who  is  now  the 
general  appointed  by  the  Portuguese  government  to  command 
their  army." 

It  was  now  late,  and  the  party  rose.  All  of  them  shook 
hands  warmly  with  Terence,  who  retired  with  his  friend 
Captain  Nelson.  The  latter  told  him  before  they  went  in 
to  dinner  that  he  had  had  a  bed  put  up  for  him  in  his  own 
room. 

"Well,  Colonel  O'Connor,"  Nelson  laughed,  "  you  must 
allow  me  to  be  the  first  to  salute  you  as  my  superior  officer." 

"It  is  absurd  altogether,"  Terence  said,  almost  ruefully. 
"Still,  Captain  Nelson,  though  I  may  hold  a  superior  rank 
in  the  Portuguese  army,  that  goes  for  very  little.  I  have 


'CONFIRMED  IN  COMMAND  345 

seen  enough  of  Portuguese  officers  to  know  that  even  their 
own  soldiers  have  not  got  any  respect  for  them,  and  in  our 
own  army  I  am  only  a  lieutenant." 

"That  is  so,  lad;  however,  there  was  never  promotion 
more  deserved.  And  as  you  hung,  or  rather  left  to  be  hung, 
a  Portuguese  colonel,  it  is  only  right  that  you  should  supply 
the  deficiency." 

"  I  hope  I  shall  not  have  to  wear  a  Portuguese  uniform/' 
Terence  said,  earnestly. 

"  I  should  think  not,  O'Connor,  but  I  will  ask  the  general 
in  the  morning.  Of  course,  you  will  not  wear  your  present 
uniform,  because  you  are  now  gazetted  into  the  staff  and  out 
of  your  own  regiment.  Now  we  will  smoke  a  quiet  cigar 
before  we  turn  in.  Have  you  any  other  story  to  tell  me  that 
you  have  not  already  related  ?  ' ' 

"  Well,  yes,  I  have  one,  but  it  is  only  of  a  personal  inter- 
est;"  and  he  then  gave  an  account  of  his  discovery  of  his 
cousin  in  the  convent  at  Oporto,  and  how  he  had  managed 
to  rescue  her,  ending  by  saying :  "I  have  told  you  the  story, 
Nelson,  so  that  if  by  any  unexpected  accident  it  is  found  out 
that  she  is  an  escaped  nun,  and  her  friends  appeal  to  the  gen- 
eral for  protection,  you  may  be  aware  of  the  circumstances, 
and  help." 

"Certainly  I  will  do  so,"  Captain  Nelson  said,  warmly. 
"  You  certainly  have  a  wonderful  head  for  devising  plans." 

*'  I  began  it  early,"  Terence  laughed.  "  I  was  always  in 
mischief  before  I  got  my  commission,  and  I  suppose  that  helps 
me  ;  but  you  see  I  had  wonderful  luck." 

"I  don't  say  anything  against  your  luck ;  but  good  luck 
is  of  no  use  unless  a  fellow  knows  how  to  take  advantage  of 
it,  and  that  is  just  what  you  have  done.  I  suppose  that  you 
will  stay  here  for  a  day  or  two. ' ' 

"  My  horse  wants  a  couple  of  days'  rest,  and  I  have  my 


346  WITH   MOORE   AT  CORUNNA 

uniform  to  get.  I  suppose  I  can  get  one  made  in  a  couple  of 
days,  whether  it  is  a  Portuguese  or  an  English  one." 

"  Yes,  I  dare  say  you  will  be  able  to  manage  that." 

The  next  morning,  to  his  great  satisfaction,  Terence  learned 
that  the  general  said  he  had  better  wear  staff  uniform,  and  he 
accordingly  went  with  Captain  Nelson  and  was  measured. 

"Your  Portuguese  seems  to  have  improved  amazingly  in 
the  two  months  you  have  been  away,"  the  latter  said,  as 
they  came  out  from  the  shop ;  "  you  seem  to  jabber  away 
quite  fluently." 

"  I  have  been  talking  nothing  else,  and  Herrara  has  acted 
as  my  instructor,  so  I  get  on  very  fairly  now." 

At  this  moment  a  carriage  drove  past  them. 

"  That  is  the  Bishop  of  Oporto,"  said  Terence;  "I  sup- 
pose he  has  just  arrived. ' ' 

"It  is  a  good  thing  that  he  does  not  know  you  as  well  as 
you  know  him,"  Captain  Nelson  said,  dryly ;  "  if  he  did, 
your  adventures  would  be  likely  to  be  cut  short  by  a  knife 
between  your  shoulders  some  dark  night. ' ' 

"  He  does  not  know  me  at  all,"  Terence  laughed  ;  "  the 
advantages  are  all  on  my  side  in  the  present  case." 

"It  is  an  advantage,"  Captain  Nelson  laughed.  "When 
I  think  that  you  have  raised  your  hand  against  that  venerable 
but  somewhat  truculent  prelate,  I  shudder  at  your  boldness. 
I  only  caught  a  glimpse  of  him  as  he  passed,  but  I  could  see 
that  he  looks  rather  scared." 

"Perhaps  he  hasn't  recovered  yet  from  the  fright  I  gave 
him,"  laughed  Terence ;  "I  have  seen  and  heard  enough  of 
his  doings,  and  paid  him  a  very  small  instalment  of  the  debt 
due  to  him." 

The  uniforms  were  promised  for  the  next  evening,  and 
Terence  felt  when  he  put  them  on  that  they  were  a  consider- 
able improvement  upon  his  late  one,  stained  and  discoloured 


CONFIRMED    IN    COMMAND  347 

as  it  was  by  wet,  mud,  and  travel.  After  paying  a  visit  to 
the  general  to  say  good-bye,  Terence  mounted  and  started 
for  Coimbra. 

Upon  his  arrival  there  four  days  later  he  at  once  reported 
himself  to  the  commandant. 

"  I  received  a  copy  of  the  general  order  of  last  Tuesday," 
the  latter  said,  "  and  congratulate  you  warmly  on  being  con- 
firmed in  your  rank.  I  thought  that  it  would  be  so,  for  one 
could  not  reckon  that,  had  another  taken  your  place,  your 
corps  would  have  maintained  its  present  state  of  efficiency." 

"  You  are  very  good  to  say  so,  Colonel,  but  any  British 
officer  appointed  to  command  it  would  do  as  well  or  better 
than  I  should." 

"I  don't  think  that  he  would  in  any  way;  but  certainly  he 
would  not  be  followed  with  the  same  confidence  by  his  men 
as  they  would  follow  you,  and  with  troops  like  these  every- 
thing depends  upon  their  confidence  in  their  commander." 

"  The  corps  is  now  attached  to  our  army,  Colonel;  you 
were  good  enough  to  order  them  to  be  rationed  before,  but  I 
have  now  an  order  from  the  general  for  them  to  draw  pay 
and  rations  the  same  as  the  British  troops." 

"That  is  all  right,"  the  colonel  said,  examining  the  docu- 
ment ;  "I  will  take  a  copy  of  it,  but  as  it  is  a  general  order 
you  must  keep  the  original  yourself.  I  see  that  you  have  now 
adopted  the  uniform  of  the  staff.  It  is  certainly  a  great  im- 
provement upon  that  of  an  infantry  officer,  and  appearances  go 
for  a  good  deal  among  these  Portuguese.  I  see,  by  the  way, 
that  you  have  got  your  step  in  our  army." 

"Yes,  Colonel,  the  general  was  good  enough  to  recom- 
mend me.  Of  course  I  am  glad  in  one  way,  but  I  am  sorry 
that  it  has  put  me  out  of  the  regiment  that  I  have  been 
brought  up  with.  But,  of  course,  it  was  necessary,  for  I 
could  not  have  gone  over  other  men's  heads  in  it." 


348  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

"  No,  when  a  man  gets  special  promotion  it  is  always  into 
another  regiment  for  that  reason.  You  will  be  glad  to  hear 
that  your  men  have  been  behaving  extremely  well  in  your 
absence,  and  that  I  have  not  heard  of  a  single  case  of  drunk- 
enness or  misconduct  among  them.  I  have  been  down  there 
several  times,  and  always  found  them  hard  at  work  drilling ; 
they  seem  to  me  to  improve  every  time  I  see  them." 

On  leaving  the  colonel's  quarters  Terence  rode  to  his 
cousin's.  Mary  rose  with  an  exclamation  of  surprise  as  he 
entered. 

"  What  a  handsome  uniform,  Terence  !  How  is  it  that 
you  have  changed  it  ?  " 

"  I  am  now  regularly  on  the  general's  staff,  Mary,  and  this 
is  the  uniform." 

"  You  look  very  well  in  it,"  she  said;  "don't  you  think 
so,  Lorenza?" 

"I  do,  indeed,"  her  friend  agreed;  "it  does  make  a 
difference." 

"Well,  to  begin  with,  it  is  clean  and  new,"  Terence 
laughed ;  "  and  though  the  other  was  not  old,  it  had  seen  its 
best  days.  But  I  have  more  news,  Mary ;  you  have  now  to 
address  your  cousin  as  colonel." 

Mary  clapped  her  hands,  and  Don  Jose  and  his  family  ut- 
tered exclamations  of  pleasure. 

"It  is  quite  right,"  Mary  said;  "it  is  ridiculous  that  Seiior 
Herrara  should  be  colonel  and  you  only  Mr.  O'Connor." 

"It  does  not  matter  much  about  a  name,"  he  said.  "  I 
commanded  before  and  I  shall  do  so  now,  but  I  have  got  Por- 
tuguese rank." 

"  Why  did  not  they  make  you  an  English  colonel?  "  Mary 
asked,  rather  indignantly. 

Terence  laughed.  "  I  shall  be  lucky  if  I  get  that  in  another 
twenty  years,  Mary.  I  am  a  lieutenant  now — I  have  got  the 


CONFIRMED    IN    COMMAND  349 

step  since  you  saw  me  last — but  I  am  to  rank  as  a  colonel  in 
the  Portuguese  army  as  long  as  I  command  this  corps,  which 
I  am  glad  to  say  is  now  to  form  a  part  of  the  British 
army.  Herrara  is  to  have  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  Bull 
and  Macwitty  will,  I  hope,  get  their  commissions  as  ensigns  in 
the  British  army,  with  local  rank  of  majors.  The  general  will 
recommend  that  Herrara's  troopers  all  get  commissions  in  the 
Portuguese  army." 

"  Ah,  well !  I  am  pleased  that  your  services  are  appreciated, 
Terence.  We  are  very  glad  that  you  have  come  back,  Lorenza 
especially  so,  as,  now  you  have  returned,  she  thinks  she  will 
see  more  of  Senor  Herrara." 

11  The  bishop  is  in  Lisbon,  Mary." 

"That  is  not  such  good  news,  Terence.  I  will  be  very 
careful  to  keep  out  of  his  way." 

"  Do,"  he  said.  "  I  have  spoken  to  Captain  Nelson,  one 
of  the  general's  staff,  about  you,  and  if  by  any  chance  you 
should  be  recognized  as  an  escaped  nun,  I  hope  that  Don  Jose 
will  go  to  him  at  once  and  ask  him  to  obtain  the  general's  pro- 
tection for  you,  which  will,  I  am  sure,  be  given.  Your  father 
was  an  Irishman.  You  are  a  British  subject,  and  have  a  right 
to  protection.  You  won't  forget  the  name,  Don  Jose — Cap- 
tain Nelson?" 

"  I  will  write  it  down  at  once,"  the  Portuguese  said,  "  but 
as  Donna  Mary  will  pass  under  the  name  of  Dillon,  and  her 
dress  has  so  changed  her  appearance,  I  do  not  think  that  there 
is  the  smallest  fear  of  her  being  recognized.  Indeed,  no  one 
could  know  her  except  the  bishop  himself." 

"  You  may  be  sure  that  I  shall  not  go  out  much  in  Lisbon," 
Mary  said,  "  and  if  I  do  I  will  keep  my  promise  to  be  always 
closely  veiled." 


350  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

CHAPTER    XX 

WITH     THE     MAYOS 

THE  news  that  Terence  brought  to  the  regiment  gave  great 
and  general  satisfaction.  Herrara  was  delighted  to  hear 
that  he  was  to  be  made  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  his  army.  Bull 
and  Macwitty  were  overjoyed  on  hearing  that  they  had  both 
been  recommended  for  commissions,  and  Herrara' s  troopers 
were  equally  pleased.  The  rank  and  file  felt  no  less  gratifica- 
tion, both  at  the  honour  of  being  attached  to  the  British  army, 
and  at  the  substantial  improvement  in  their  condition  that 
this  would  entail. 

On  the  following  day  Herrara's  friends  and  Mary  O'Connor 
left  for  Lisbon,  and  the  latter  astonished  Terence  by  bursting 
into  tears  as  she  said  good-bye  to  him. 

"  I  have  said  nothing  yet  of  the  gratitude  that  I  feel  to  you, 
Terence,  for  all  that  you  have  done  for  me,  for  you  have  always 
stopped  me  whenever  I  have  tried  to,  but  I  shall  always  feel 
it,  always;  and  shall  think  of  you  and  love  you  dearly." 

"  It  has  been  just  as  fortunate  for  me  as  it  has  been  good 
for  you,  Mary,"  he  said.  "  I  have  never  had  a  sister,  and  I 
seem  to  have  found  one  now." 

The  girl  looked  up,  pouting.  "  I  don't  think,"  she  said, 
"  I  should  particularly  care  about  being  a  sister ;  I  think  that 
I  would  rather  remain  a  cousin." 

Terence  looked  surprised  and  a  little  hurt. 

"  You  are  only  a  silly  boy,"  she  laughed,  "  but  will  under- 
stand better  some  day.  Well,  good-bye,  Terence,"  and  the 
smile  faded  from  her  face. 

"  Good-bye,  dear.  Take  great  care  of  yourself  in  Lisbon, 
and  be  sure  that  you  look  out  to  see  if  the  Mayo  Fusiliers 


/  /   /   L  t  I  i.--  • 


TERENCE  BIDS  GOOD-BYE  TO  HIS  COUSIN,  MARY  O'CONNOR. 


WITH    THE   MAYOS  351 

arrive  while  you  are  there.  I  heard  that  they  were  about  to 
embark  again  with  a  force  that  General  Hill  is  bringing  out, 
but  my  father  won't  be  with  them,  I  am  afraid.  I  have  not 
heard  from  him,  but  I  should  hardly  think  that  he  will  be  fit 
for  hard  service  again ;  yet,  if  he  should  be,  he  will  tell  you 
where  to  go  to  till  we  get  back.  At  any  rate,  don't  start  for 
England  until  the  regiment  comes.  I  fancy  that  it  will  be  at 
Lisbon  before  you  are,  and  Don  Jose  can  easily  find  out  for 
you  whether  father  is  with  it.  If  he  is  not,  go  to  Ballinagra. 
I  have  written  instructions  how  you  are  to  travel,  but  you  had 
better  write  to  him  there  directly  you  land,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  will  come  over  and  fetch  you.  I  don't  know 
anything  about  London,  but  you  had  better  see  Captain  Nelson 
at  Lisbon.  Here  is  a  note  I  have  written  to  him,  asking  him 
where  you  had  better  go,  and  what  you  had  better  do  when 
you  get  to  London." 

The  day  after  the  party  had  left,  Terence  marched  with  his 
corps  north,  and  established  himself  at  Carvalho,  where  the 
road  from  Oporto  passed  over  the  spurs  of  the  Serra  de  Cara- 
mula,  in  order  to  check  the  incursions  of  French  cavalry  from 
Oporto.  In  the  course  of  the  next  fortnight  he  had  several 
sharp  engagements  with  them.  In  the  last  of  these,  when 
making  a  reconnaissance  with  both  regiments,  he  was  met  by 
the  whole  of  Franceschi's  cavalry.  They  charged  down  on  all 
four  sides  of  the  square  into  which  he  formed  his  force,  ex- 
pecting that,  as  upon  two  previous  occasions,  the  Portuguese 
would  at  once  break  up  at  their  approach.  They  stood,  how- 
ever, perfectly  firm,  and  received  the  cavalry  with  such  wither- 
ing volleys  that  Franceschi  speedily  drew  off,  leaving  upwards 
of  two  hundred  dead  behind  him. 

The  day  after  this  fight  Terence  received  a  letter  from  Mary, 
saying  that  General  Hill  had  arrived  before  they  reached 
Lisbon,  and  that  Don  Jose  had  learned  that  Major  O'Connor 


352  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

had  retired  on  half-pay.  Also  that  Captain  Nelson  had  obtained 
a  passage  for  her  in  one  of  the  returning  transports,  and  had 
given  her  a  letter  to  his  mother,  who  resided  in  London, 
asking  her  to  receive  her  until  she  heard  from  the  major. 

A  few  days  afterwards  he  learned  from  Colonel  Wilberforce 
that  the  English  army  had  marched  for  Leirya.  General 
Hill's  force  of  five  thousand  men  and  three  hundred  horses  for 
the  artillery  arrived  at  an  opportune  moment.  The  storming 
of  Oporto,  the  approach  of  Victor  to  Badajos,  after  totally  de- 
feating Cuesta's  Spanish  army,  killing  three-fifths  of  his  men, 
and  capturing  thousands  of  prisoners,  while  Lapisse  was  ad- 
vancing from  the  east,  had  created  a  terrible  panic  in  Portu- 
gal. Beresford's  orders  were  disobeyed,  many  of  his  regi- 
ments abandoned  their  posts,  and  the  populace  in  Lisbon  were 
in  a  state  of  furious  turmoil.  Hill's  arrival  to  some  extent  re- 
stored confidence,  the  disorders  were  repressed,  and  Sir  John 
Cradock  now  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  advance. 

Terence's  report  of  the  repulse  of  Franceschi's  cavalry  was 
answered  by  a  letter  from  Cradock  himself,  expressing  warm 
approval  at  the  conduct  of  the  corps. 

"  There  is  but  little  fear  of  an  advance  by  Soult  at  pres- 
ent," he  said.  "  He  must  know  that  we  have  received  re- 
inforcements, and  he  will  not  venture  to  march  on  Lisbon,  as 
the  force  now  gathering  at  Leirya  could  operate  upon  his  flank 
and  rear.  I  shall  be  glad,  therefore,  if  you  would  march  with 
your  command  to  the  latter  town.  The  example  of  your 
troops  cannot  but  have  a  good  effect  upon  the  raw  Portuguese 
levies,  and,  in  the  event  of  our  advancing  to  the  relief  of 
Ciudad-Rodrigo,  could  render  good  service  by  clearing  the 
passes,  driving  in  the  French  outposts,  and  keeping  me  well 
informed  of  the  state  of  the  roads,  the  accommodation  avail- 
able for  the  troops,  and  the  existence  of  supplies." 

Immediately  on  receipt  of  this  Terence  marched  for  Leirya, 


WITH    THE    MAYOS  353 

where  the  British  army  was  under  canvas.  On  the  way  down 
they  halted  for  a  night  at  Coimbra. 

''An  official  letter  came  for  you  last  night,  O'Connor," 
Colonel  Wilberforce  said.  "  I  kept  it  until  I  should  have  an 
opportunity  of  forwarding  it  to  you.  Here  it  is,  duly  addressed, 
Colonel  O'Connor,  the  Minho  Regiment. " 

This  was  the  name  Sir  John  Cradock  suggested  to  Terence, 
as  a  memorial  of  the  service  they  had  rendered  in  repulsing 
Soult  at  that  river.  It  was  the  first  time  Terence  had  seen 
his  name  with  the  prefix  of  colonel. 

"  It  looks  like  a  farce,"  he  said,  as  he  broke  the  seal. 

Inside  was  an  official  document,  signed  by  Lord  Beresford, 
to  the  effect  that  as  a  recognition  of  the  very  great  services 
rendered  by  Lieutenant  O'Connor,  an  officer  on  the  staff  of 
Sir  John  Cradock,  when  in  command  of  the  two  battalions 
of  the  Minho  Regiment,  and  in  accordance  with  the  strong 
recommendation  of  the  British  general,  Lieutenant  Terence 
O'Connor  is  hereby  appointed  to  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the 
Portuguese  service,  with  the  pay  and  allowances  of  his  rank. 
Colonel  O'  Connor  is  to  continue  in  command  of  the  regiments, 
which  will  be  attached  to  the  British  army,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Sir  John  Cradock. 

"  Here  is  also  a  letter  for  your  friend  Herrara,  and  a  much 
more  bulky  one ;  will  you  hand  it  to  him  ?  ' ' 

Herrara' s  letter  contained  his  promotion  to  lieutenant- 
colonel,  with  an  order  to  remain  under  Terence's  command ; 
also  fourteen  commissions,  two  giving  Bull  and  Macwitty  the 
Portuguese  rank  of  major,  the  remaining  being  captain's  com- 
missions for  the  twelve  troopers. 

Two  days  later  they  reached  Leirya.    The  April  sun  rendered 

shelter  unnecessary  for  the  Portuguese,  and  after  establishing 

them,  for  the  present,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from  the  British 

camp,  he  went  and  reported  his  arrival  to  the  officer  in  com- 

23 


354  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

mand,  and  was  told  that  he  could  not  do  better  than  bivouac 
on  the  ground  he  had  selected.  Leaving  the  headquarters 
he  soon  found  where  the  Mayo  regiment  was  encamped,  and 
made  his  way  to  the  officers'  marquee.  They  were  just  sitting 
down  to  lunch  when,  at  the  entry  of  an  officer  on  the  general's 
staff,  the  colonel  at  once  rose  gravely.  O'Grady  was  the  first 
to  recognize  the  newcomer. 

"  Bejabers,"  he  shouted,  "  but  it  is  Terence  O'Connor  him- 
self! "  There  was  a  general  rush  to  shake  hands  with  him, 
and  a  din  of  voices  and  a  confusion  of  questions  and  greetings. 

' '  And  what  in  the  world  have  you  got  that  uniform  on  for, 
Terence  ?  "  O'Grady  asked,  when  the  din  somewhat  subsided. 
"  We  saw  that  the  general  had  appointed  you  as  one  of  his 
aides-de-camp  when  you  got  here  after  Corunna,  but  you 
would  wear  your  own  uniform  all  the  same. ' ' 

"What  matters  about  his  uniform,  O'Grady?"  the  others 
exclaimed.  "  What  we  want  to  know  is  how  he  saved  his  life 
at  Corunna,  when  we  all  thought  that  he  was  either  killed  or 
taken  prisoner." 

"  Wait  till  the  lad  has  got  something  to  eat  and  drink,"  the 
colonel  said,  peremptorily.  "  Pray  take  your  seats,  gentlemen. 
You  take  this  chair  by  me,  O'Connor;  and  now,  while  you 
are  waiting  for  your  plate,  tell  us  in  a  few  words  how  you 
escaped.  Everyone"  made  sure  that  you  were  killed.  We 
heard  that  Fane  had  sent  you  to  carry  an  order,  that  you  had 
delivered  it,  and  then  started  to  rejoin  him  ;  from  that  time 
nobody  saw  you  alive  or  dead." 

"  The  matter  was  very  simple,  Colonel.  My  horse  was  hit 
in  the  head  with  a  round  shot.  I  went  a  frightful  cropper  on 
some  stones  in  the  middle  of  a  clump  of  bushes.  I  lay  there 
insensible  all  night,  and  coming-to  in  the  morning,  saw  that 
the  French  had  advanced,  and  the  firing  on  the  hill  over  the 
town  told  me  that  the  troops  had  got  safely  on  board  ship. 


WITH   THE   MAYOS  355 

I  lay  quiet  all  day,  and  at  night  made  off,  sheltered  for  a 
couple  of  days  with  some  peasants  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill, 
joined  Romana,  went  to  the  Portuguese  frontier  with  him,  and 
then  rode  to  Lisbon,  where  Sir  John  Cradock  was  good  enough 
to  put  me  on  his  staff. ' ' 

"  We  heard  you  had  turned  up  safely  at  Lisbon,  and  glad 
we  were,  as  you  may  be  sure,  and  a  good  jollification  we  had 
over  it.  As  for  O'Grady,  it  has  served  as  an  excuse  for  an 
extra  tumbler  ever  since. ' ' 

"Bad  excuses  are  better  than  none,"  Terence  laughed, 
"and  if  it  hadn't  been  that,  it  would  have  been  something  else. ' ' 

"  Shut  up,  you  young  scamp,"  O'Grady  said.  "  How  is 
it  that  you  have  not  answered  my  question  ?  Why  are  you 
wearing  staff-officer's  uniform  instead  of  your  own  ?  " 

"  Have  you  not  heard,  Colonel,"  Terence  said,  "  that  I  no 
longer  belong  to  the  regiment  ?  ' ' 

There  was  a  chorus  of  expressions  of  regret  round  the  table. 

"And  how  has  that  happened,  Terence?"  the  colonel 
asked.  "  That  is  bad  news  for  us  all,  anyway." 

"  I  was  gazetted  lieutenant  a  month  ago,  Colonel.  I  suppose 
you  had  sailed  from  England  before  the  Gazette  came  out." 

"I  suppose  so,  lad.  Well,  you  richly  deserved  your  pro- 
motion, if  it  was  only  for  that  affair  on  board  the  Sea-horse, 
and  you  ought  to  have  had  it  long  ago." 

"  I  am  awfully  sorry  to  leave  the  regiment.  It  has  been 
my  home  as  long  as  I  can  remember,  and  wherever  I  may  be, 
I  shall  always  regard  it  in  that  light." 

"And  so  you  remain  on  the  staff  at  present,  O'Connor?  " 

"  Well,  sir,  I  am  on  the  staff  still,  but  for  the  present  I  am 
on  detached  duty." 

"  What  sort  of  duty,  Terence  ?  " 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  command  two  Portuguese  regiments 
that  marched  in  an  hour  ago." 


356  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

A  shout  of  laughter  followed  the  announcement. 

"  Bedad,  Terence,"  O'Grady  said,  "that  crack  on  your 
head  hasn't  changed  your  nature,  thanks  to  your  thick  skull. 
I  suppose  it  is  poking  fun  at  us  that  you  are.  But  you  won't 
take  us  in  this  time. ' ' 

"  I  saw  the  regiments  pass  at  a  distance,"  the  colonel  said, 
"  and  they  marched  in  good  order,  too,  which  is  more  than  I 
have  seen  any  other  Portuguese  troops  do.  Now  you  mention 
it,  I  did  see  an  officer,  in  what  looked  like  a  British  uniform, 
riding  with  the  men,  but  it  was  too  far  off  to  see  what  branch 
of  the  service  he  belonged  to.  That  was  you,  was  it?  " 

"  That  was  me,  sure  enough,  Colonel." 

"And  what  were  you  doing  there  ?  Tell  us,  like  a  good  boy." 

"  Absurd  as  it  may  appear,  and,  indeed,  absurd  as  it  is, 
I  am  in  command  of  those  two  regiments." 

Again  a  burst  of  incredulous  laughter  arose.  Terence  took 
out  his  commission  and  handed  it  to  the  colonel. 

"Perhaps,  Colonel,  if  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  read  that 
out  loud,  my  assurance  will  be  believed." 

"  Faith,  it  was  not  your  assurance  that  we  doubted,  Ter- 
ence, me  boy  !  "  O'Grady  exclaimed.  "You  have  plenty  of 
assurance,  and  to  spare ;  it  is  the  statement  that  we  were 
doubting. ' ' 

The  colonel  glanced  down  the  document,  and  his  face  as- 
sumed an  expression  of  extreme  surprise. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  rising,  "  if  you  will  endeavour  to 
keep  silence  for  a  minute,  I  will  read  this  document." 

The  surprise  on  his  own  face  was  repeated  on  the  faces  of 
all  those  present,  as  he  proceeded  with  his  reading.  O'Grady 
was  the  first  to  break  the  silence. 

"In  the  name  of  St.  Peter,"  he  said,  "what  does  it  all 
mean  ?  Are  you  sure  that  it  is  a  genuine  document,  Colonel  ? 
Terence  is  capable  of  anything  by  way  of  a  joke." 


WITH    THE    MAYOS  357 

"It  is  undoubtedly  genuine,  O'Grady.  It  is  dated  from 
Lord  Beresford's  quarters,  and  signed  by-his  lordship  himself 
as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Portuguese  army.  How  it 
comes  about  beats  me  as  much  as  it  does  you.  But  before  we 
ask  any  questions  we  will  drink  a  toast.  Gentlemen,  fill  your 
glasses ;  here  is  to  the  health  of  Colonel  Terence  O'Connor." 

The  toast  was  drank  with  much  enthusiasm,  mingled  with 
laughter,  for  many  of  them  had  still  a  suspicion  that  the  whole 
matter  was  somehow  an  elaborate  trick  played  by  Terence. 

"Now,  Colonel  O'Connor,  will  you  please  to  favour  us 
with  an  account  of  how  General  Cradock  and  Lord  Beresford 
have  both  united  in  giving  you  so  big  a  step  up." 

"  It  is  a  long  story,  Colonel." 

"  So  much  the  better,"  the  colonel  replied.  "We  have 
nothing  to  do,  and  it  will  keep  us  all  awake." 

Terence's  account  of  his  interview  with  the  colonel  of  the 
ordenancas,  the  demand  by  Cortingos  that  he  should  hand 
over  the  money  he  was  escorting,  and  the  subsequent  gather- 
ing to  attack  the  house,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  leaders 
were  captured,  the  rioters  appeased  and  subsequently  advised 
to  direct  their  efforts  to  obtain  arms  and  ammunition,  excited 
exclamations  of  approval ;  but  the  belief  that  the  story  was  a 
pure  romance  still  prevailed  in  the  minds  of  many,  and  Ter- 
ence saw  Captain  O'Grady  and  Dick  Ryan  exchanging  winks. 
It  was  not  until  Terence  spoke  of  his  rapid  march  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Minho,  as  soon  as  he  heard  that  the  French  were 
concentrating  there,  that  he  began  to  be  seriously  listened  to ; 
and  when  he  told  how  Soult's  attempt  to  cross  had  been  de- 
feated, and  the  French  general  obliged  to  change  the  whole 
plan  of  the  campaign,  and  to  march  round  by  Orense,  the 
conviction  that  all  this  was  true  was  forced  upon  them. 

"  By  the  powers,  Terence  !  "  the  colonel  exclaimed,  bring- 
ing his  hand  down  on  his  shoulder,  "you  are  a  credit  to  the 


358  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

ould  country.  I  am  proud  of  you,  me  boy,  and  it  is  little  I 
thought  when  O' Flaherty  and  myself  conspired  to  get  ye  into 
the  regiment  that  you  were  going  to  be  such  a  credit  to  it. 
Gentlemen,  before  Colonel  O'Connor  goes  further,  we  will 
drink  his  health  again." 

This  time  there  was  no  laughter  mixed  with  the  cheers. 
Many  of  the  officers  left  their  seats  and  came  round  to  shake 
his  hand  warmly,  O'Grady  foremost  among  them. 

"  Sure  I  thought  at  first  that  it  was  blathering  you  were, 
Terence;  but,  begorra,  I  see  now  that  it's  gospel  truth  you 
are  telling,  and  I  am  proud  of  you.  Faith,  I  am  as  proud  as  if 
I  were  your  own  father,  for  haven't  I  brought  you  up  in  mis- 
chief of  all  kinds?  Be  the  poker,  I  would  have  given  me 
other  arm  to  have  been  with  you." 

The  rest  of  the  story  was  listened  to  without  interruption. 
When  it  was  concluded,  Colonel  Corcoran  again  rose. 

"  Gentlemen,  we  will  for  the  third  time  drink  to  the  health 
of  Colonel  O'Connor,  and  I  think  that  you  will  agree  with 
me  that  if  ever  a  man  deserved  to  be  made  a  colonel  it's  him- 
self." 

This  time  O'Grady  and  three  others  rushed  to  where  Ter- 
ence was  sitting,  seized  him,  and  before  he  knew  what  they 
were  going  to  do,  hoisted  him  onto  the  shoulders  of  two  of 
them,  and  carried  him  in  triumph  round  the  table.  When  at 
length  quiet  was  restored,  and  Terence  had  resumed  his  seat, 
the  colonel  said  : 

"By the  way,  Terence,  there  was  a  little  old  gentleman 
called  on  me  three  days  after  we  landed  to  ask  if  Major 
O'Connor  was  with  the  regiment.  I  told  •  him  that  he  was 
not,  having  gone  on  half-pay  for  the  present  on  account  of  a 
wound.  He  seemed  rather  pleased  than  otherwise,  I  thought, 
and  I  asked  him  pretty  bluntly  what  he  wanted  to  know  for. 
He  brought  an  interpreter  with  him,  and  said  through  him 


WITH    THE   MAYOS  359 

that  he  hoped  that  I  would  not  press  that  question,  especially 
as  a  lady  was  concerned  in  the  matter.  It  bothered  me  en- 
tirely. Why,  from  the  time  we  landed  at  the  Mondego  till 
your  father  was  hit  at  Vimiera  I  don't  believe  we  ever  had 
the  chance  to  speak  to  a  woman.  It  may  be  that  it  was  some 
lady  that  nursed  him  there  after  we  had  marched  away,  and 
who  had  taken  a  fancy  to  him.  The  ould  man  may  have  been 
her  father,  and  was  perhaps  mighty  glad  to  hear  that  the 
major  was  not  coming  back  again. " 

Terence  burst  into  a  shout  of  laughter. 

"  My  dear  Colonel,"  he  said,  "  the  respectable  old  gentle- 
man did  not  call  on  behalf  of  his  daughter,  but  on  behalf  of  a 
cousin  of  mine,  who  was  wanting  to  find  my  father ;  and  Don 
Jose,  who  was  in  charge  of  her,  was  glad  to  hear  that  he  was 
going  to  remain  in  England." 

"A  cousin!"  O'Grady  exclaimed.  "  Why  how  in  the 
name  of  fortune  does  a  lady  cousin  of  yours  come  to  be  cruis- 
ing about  in  such  an  outlandish  place  as  this?  " 

"  That  is  another  story,  Colonel,  and  I  have  talked  until 
I  am  hoarse  now,  so  that  that  must  keep  until  another  sitting. 
It  is  quite  time  that  I  was  off  to  see  how  my  men  are  getting 
on." 

"  Of  course  you  will  dine  with  us?  " 

"  Not  to-night,  Colonel ;  this  has  been  a  long  sitting,  and 
I  would  rather  not  begin  a  fresh  one. ' ' 

"  Well,  we  will  come  and  have  a  look  at  your  regiments." 

"  I  would  rather  you  did  not  come  until  to-morrow, 
Colonel.  The  men  have  marched  five-and-twenty  miles  a  day 
for  the  last  five  days,  and  they  want  rest,  so  I  should  not  like 
to  parade  them  again.  If  you  will  come  over,  say  at  twelve 
o'clock  to-morrow,  I  shall  be  proud  to  show  them." 

The  corps  now  possessed  five  tents,  Terence  having  obtained 
four  more  at  Coimbra.  Herrara  and  himself  occupied  one, 


360  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

while  two  were  allotted  to  the  officers  of  each  regiment.  Bull 
and  Macwitty  had  both  by  this  time  picked  up  sufficient 
Portuguese  to  be  able  to  get  on  comfortably,  and  had  agreed 
with  Terence  that  although  they  would  like  to  remain  to- 
gether, it  was  better  that  each  should  stay  with  the  officers  of 
his  own  regiment. 

At  twelve  o'clock  next  day  Colonel  Corcoran  came  over 
with  nearly  the  whole  of  the  officers  of  the  Mayo  regiment, 
and  was  accompanied  by  many  others,  as  they  had  the  night 
before  given  many  of  their  acquaintances  an  outline  of  Ter- 
ence's story. 

The  men  had  been  on  foot  from  an  early  hour  after  break- 
fast. There  had  been  a  parade.  Every  man's  firelock,  ac- 
coutrements, and  uniform  had  been  very  closely  inspected, 
and  when  they  fell  in  again  at  a  quarter  to  twelve  a  most  rigid 
inspection  would  have  failed  to  find  any  fault  with  their  ap- 
pearance. Terence  joined  the  colonel  as  soon  as  he  came  on 
the  ground. 

"  So  your  officers  are  all  mounted,  I  see,  Terence?  " 

"Yes,  Colonel;  you  see  the  companies  are  over  two  hun- 
dred strong,  for  the  losses  we  had  have  been  filled  up  since, 
and  one  officer  to  each  corps  could  do  but  little  unless  he  were 
mounted.*' 

"  The  men  looked  uncommonly  well,  Terence,  uncom- 
monly well.  I  should  like  to  walk  along  the  line  before  you 
move  them." 

"  By  all  means,  Colonel.  Their  uniforms  do  not  fit  as  well 
as  I  should  like,  but  I  had  to  take  them  as  they  were  served 
out,  and  have  had  no  opportunity  of  getting  them  altered." 

Since  the  inspection  at  Coimbra  the  men  had  been  taught 
the  salute,  and  as  Terence  shouted  : 

' '  Attention  !  General  salute  !  Present  arms  !  "  the  men  ex- 
ecuted the  order  with  a  sharpness  and  precision  that  would 


WITH   THE   MAYOS  361 

have  done  no  discredit  to  a  British  line  regiment.  Then  the 
colonel  and  officers  walked  along  the  line,  after  which  the 
troops  were  put  through  their  manoeuvres  for  an  hour,  and  then 
dismissed. 

"  Upon  my  word,  it  is  wonderful,"  Colonel  Corcoran  said. 
«  Why,  if  the  beggars  had  been  at  it  six  months  they  could 
not  have  done  it  better." 

There  was  a  chorus  of  agreement  from  all  the  officers  round. 

"  We  could  not  have  done  some  of  those  movements  better 
ourselves,  could  we,  O'Driscol?" 

"  That  we  could  not,"  the  major  said,  heartily.  "Another 
three  months'  work  and  these  two  regiments  would  be  equal 
to  our  best ;  and  I  can  understand  now  how  they  stood  up 
against  the  charge  of  Franceschi's  cavalry  regiments." 

"  Now,  Colonel,  I  cannot  ask  you  all  to  a  meal,"  Terence 
said ;  "  my  arrangements  are  not  sufficiently  advanced  for  that 
yet ;  but  I  managed  to  get  hold  of  some  very  good  wine  this 
morning,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  take  a  glass  all  round  be- 
fore you  go  back  to  camp." 

"  That  we  will,  and  with  pleasure,  for  the  dust  has  well- 
nigh  choked  me.  It  is  a  different  thing  drilling  on  this 
sandy  ground  from  drilling  on  a  stretch  of  good  turf.  Of 
course,  you  will  come  back  and  lunch  with  us,  and  bring  your 
friend  Herrara." 

Herrara,  however,  excused  himself.  He  did  not  know  a 
word  of  English,  and  felt  that  until  he  could  make  himself 
understood  he  would  feel  uncomfortable  at  a  gathering  of 
English  officers.  After  lunch  Terence  was  called  upon  to  tell 
the  story  about  his  cousin.  Among  his  friends  of  the  regi- 
ment he  had  no  fear  of  his  adventure  with  the  bishop  getting 
abroad,  and  he  therefore  related  the  whole  story  as  it  happened. 

"  By  my  sowl,"  O'Grady  said  to  him,  afterwards,  "  Ter- 
ence O'Connor,  you  take  me  breath  away  altogether.  To 


362  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

think  that  a  year  ago  you  were  just  a  gossoon,  and  here  ye 
are  a  colonel — a  Portuguese  colonel,  I  grant,  but  still  a  colonel 
— fighting  Soult,  and  houlding  denies,  and  making  night 
attacks,  and  thrashing  the  French  cavalry,  and  carrying  off  a 
nun  from  a  convent,  and  outwitting  a  bishop,  and  playing  all 
sorts  of  divarsions.  It  bates  me  entirely.  There  is  Dicky 
Ryan,  who,  as  I  tould  him  yesterday,  had  just  the  same 
chances  as  you  have  had,  just  Dicky  Ryan  still.  I  tould 
him  he  ought  to  blush  down  to  his  boots. ' ' 

"And  what  did  he  say,  O'Grady?  " 

"  The  young  spalpeen  had  the  impudence  to  say  that  there 
was  I,  Captain  O'Grady,  just  the  same  as  when  he  first  joined, 
and,  barring  the  loss  of  an  arm,  divil  a  bit  the  better.  And 
the  worst  of  it  is,  it  was  true  entirely.  If  I  could  but  find 
a  pretty  cousin  shut  up  in  a  convent  you  would  see  that  I 
would  not  be  backward  in  doing  what  had  to  be  done ;  but 
no  such  luck  comes  to  me  at  all,  at  all. ' ' 

"Quite  so,  O'Grady;  I  have  had  tremendous  luck.  And 
it  has  all  come  about  owing  to  my  happening  to  think  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  to  take  possession  of  that  French  lug- 
ger." 

"Don't  you  think  it,  me  boy,"  O'Grady  said,  seriously. 
"  No  doubt  a  man  may  have  a  turn  of  luck,  though  it  is  not 
everyone  who  takes  advantage  of  it  when  it  comes.  But 
when  you  see  a  man  always  succeeding,  always  doing  some- 
thing that  other  fellows  don't  do,  and  making  his  way  up 
step  by  step,  you  may  put  it  down  that  luck  has  very  little 
to  do  with  the  matter,  and  that  he  has  got  something  in  him 
that  other  men  haven't  got.  You  may  have  had  some  luck 
to  start  with — enough,  perhaps,  to  have  got  you  your  lieuten- 
ancy, though  I  don't  say  that  it  was  luck;  but  you  cannot 
put  the  rest  of  it  down  to  that." 

At  this  moment  Dick  Ryan  came  and  joined  them. 


WITH   THE   MAYOS  363 

"Well,  Dicky,"  Terence  said,  "have  you  had  no  fun 
lately  in  the  regiment  ?  " 

"Not  a  scrap,"  Ryan  said,  dismally.  "There  was  not 
much  chance  of  fun  on  that  long  march  ;  on  board  ship  there 
was  a  storm  all  the  way ;  then  we  were  kept  on  board  the 
transport  at  Cork  nearly  three  months.  Everyone  was  out  of 
temper,  and  a  mouse  would  not  have  dared  squeak  on  board 
the  ship.  I  have  had  a  bad  time  of  it  since  the  day  we  lost 
you." 

"Oh,  well,  you  will  have  plenty  of  chances  yet,  Dicky." 

"  It  has  not  been  the  same  thing  since  you  have  gone, 
Terence,"  he  grumbled.  "Of  course  we  could  not  always 
be  having  fun ;  but  you  know  that  we  were  always  putting 
our  heads  together  and  talking  over  what  might  be  done.  It 
was  good  fun,  even  if  we  could  not  carry  it  out.  I  tried  to 
stir  up  the  others  of  our  lot,  but  they  don't  seem  to  have  it  in 
them.  I  wish  you  could  get  me  transferred  to  your  regiment. 
I  know  that  we  should  have  plenty  of  fun  there. ' ' 

"  I  am  afraid  that  it  could  not  be  done,  Dicky,  though  I 
should  like  it  immensely.  But  you  see  you  have  not  learned 
a  word  of  Portuguese,  and  you  would  be  of  no  use  in  the  world. ' ' 

"There  it  is,  you  see,"  O'Grady  said.  "That  is  one  of 
the  points  which  had  no  luck  in  it,  Terence.  You  were  al- 
ways trying  to  talk  away  with  the  peasants  ;  and,  riding  about 
as  you  did  as  Fane's  aide-de-camp,  you  had  opportunities  of 
doing  so  and  made  the  most  of  them.  Now  there  are  not 
three  other  fellows  in  the  regiment  who  can  ask  a  simple 
question.  I  can  shout  Carajo  !  at  a  mule-driver  who  loiters 
behind,  and  can  add  two  or  three  other  strong  Portuguese 
words,  but  there  is  an  end  of  it.  Cradock  would  never  have 
sent  you  that  errand  to  Romana  if  you  could  not  have  talked 
enough  to  have  made  yourself  understood.  You  could  never 
have  jawed  those  mutineers  and  put  them  up  to  getting  hold 


364  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

of  the  arms.  If  Dicky  Ryan  and  I  had  been  sent  on  that 
mission  we  should  just  have  been  as  helpless  as  babies,  and 
should,  like  enough,  have  been  murdered  by  that  mob. 
There  was  no  luck  about  that,  you  see  ;  it  was  just  because 
you  had  done  your  best  to  pick  up  the  language,  and  nobody 
else  had  taken  the  trouble  to  learn  a  word  of  it. ' ' 

"I  see  that,  O'Grady,"  Ryan  said,  dolefully.  "I  don't 
envy  Terence  a  bit.  I  know  that  he  has  quite  deserved  what 
he  has  got,  and  that  if  I  had  had  his  start,  I  should  never 
have  got  any  farther.  Still,  I  wish  I  could  go  with  him.  I 
know  that  he  has  always  been  the  one  who  invented  our 
plans.  Still,  I  have  had  a  good  idea  sometimes." 

' '  Certainly  you  have,  Dicky ;  and  if  I  have  generally 
started  an  idea,  you  have  always  worked  it  up  with  me. 
Well,  if  you  will  get  up  Portuguese  a  bit,  and  I  see  a  chance 
of  asking  for  another  English  officer,  say  as  adjutant,  I  will  see 
if  I  cannot  get  you  ;  but  I  could  not  ask  for  you  without  be- 
ing able  to  give  as  a  reason  that  you  could  speak  Portuguese 
well." 

"  I  will  try,  Terence  ;  upon  my  honour,  I  will  try  hard," 
Ryan  said.  "  I  will  get  hold  of  a  fellow  and  begin  to-day." 

"Quite  right,  Dicky,"  O'Grady  said.  "Faith,  I  would 
do  it  meself,  if  it  wasn't  in  the  first  place  that  I  am  too  old 
to  learn,  and  in  the  second  place  that  I  niver  could  learn  any- 
thing when  I  was  a  boy.  I  used  to  get  thrashed  every  day 
regularly,  but  divil  a  bit  of  difference  did  it  make.  I  got  to 
read  and  write,  and  there  I  stuck.  As  for  the  ancients,  I 
was  always  mixing  them  up  together  ;  and  whether  it  was 
Alexander  or  Caesar  who  marched  over  the  Alps  and  burnt 
Jerusalem,  divil  a  bit  do  I  know,  and  I  don't  see  that  if  I 
did  know  it  would  do  me  a  hap'orth  of  good." 

"  I  don't  think  that  particular  piece  of  knowledge  would, 
O'Grady,"  Terence  agreed,  with  a  hearty  laugh  ;  "still,  even 


WITH    THE    MAYOS  365 

if  you  did  learn  Portuguese,  I  couldn't  ask  for  you.  I  don't 
mind  Dicky,  because  he  is  only  a  year  senior  to  me ;  but  if 
they  made  me  commander-in-chief  of  the  Portuguese  army,  I 
could  never  have  the  cheek  to  give  you  an  order." 

Three  weeks  later  came  the  startling  news  that  Sir  Arthur 
Wellesley  had  arrived  at  Lisbon,  and  was  to  assume  the  com- 
mand of  the  army.  Sir  John  Cradock  was  to  command  at 
Gibraltar.  There  was  general  satisfaction  at  the  news,  for 
the  events  of  the  last  campaign  had  given  all  who  served 
under  him  an  implicit  confidence  in  Sir  Arthur ;  but  it  was 
felt  that  Sir  John  Cradock  had  been  very  hardly  treated.  In 
the  first  place,  he  was  a  good  way  senior  to  Sir  Arthur,  and  in 
the  second  place,  he  had  battled  against  innumerable  difficul- 
ties, and  the  time  was  now  approaching  when  he  would  reap 
the  benefit  of  his  labours.  To  Terence  the  news  came  almost 
as  a  blow,  for  he  felt  that  it  was  probable  he  might  be  at  once 
appointed  to  a  British  regiment. 

Personally  he  would  not  have  cared  so  much,  but  he  would 
have  regretted  it  greatly  for  the  sake  of  the  men  who  had 
followed  him.  It  was  true  that  they  might  obey  Herrara  as 
willingly  as  they  did  himself,  but  he  knew  that  the  native 
officers  did  not  possess  anything  like  the  same  influence  with 
the  Portuguese  that  the  English  did,  and  that  there  might  be 
a  rapid  deterioration  in  their  discipline  and  morale.  He  re- 
mained in  a  state  of  uncertainty  for  a  week,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  received  a  letter  from  Captain  Nelson,  and 
tearing  it  open,  read  as  follows: — 

My  Dear  O'  Connor, 

I  dare  say  you  have  been  feeling  somewhat  doubtful  as  to 
your  position  since  you  heard  that  Sir  Arthur  has  super- 
seded  Sir  John  Cradock.  I  may  tell  you  at  once  that  he  has 
taken  over  the  whole  of  Sir  John' s  staff,  yourself,  of  course, 


366  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

included.  I  ventured  to  suggest  to  Sir  John  that  he  should 
mention  your  case  to  Sir  Arthur,  and  he  told  me  that  he  had 
intended  to  take  the  opportunity  of  the  first  informal  talk  he  had 
with  him  to  do  so.  The  opportunity  came  yesterday,  and  Sir 
John  went  fully  into  your  case,  showed  him  the  reports,  and 
mentioned  how  he  came  to  appoint  you  because  of  the  clear  and 
lucid  description  you  gave  of  the  movements  of  every  division 
of  Moore*  s  army. 

Sir  Arthur  remembered  your  name  at  once,  and  the  circum- 
stances under  which  he  had  mentioned  you  in  general  orders 
for  your  conduct  on  board  the  transport  coming  out.  Sir  John 
told  me  that  he  said,  (  There  is  no  doubt  that  O'  Connor  is  a 
singularly  promising  young  officer,  Sir  John.  The  check  he 
gave  Soult  on  the  Minho  might  have  completely  reversed  the 
success  of  the  Frenchman' s  campaign  had  he  had  any  but 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese  to  oppose  him.  The  report  shows 
that  O*  Connor  has  done  wonders  with  those  two  regiments  of 
his,  and  I  shall  not  think  of  removing  him  from  their  command. 
A  trustworthy  native  corps  of  that  description  would  be  of  the 
greatest  advantage,  and  will  act,  like  Trant  and  Wilson' s 
commands,  as  the  eyes  of  the  army.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you 
for  your  having  brought  the  case  before  my  notice,  for  other- 
wise, not  knowing  the  circumstances,  I  might  very  well  have 
considered  that  the  position  of  a  lieutenant  on  my  staff  as  the 
commander  of  two  native  regiments  was  an  anomalous  one.  I 
should,  no  doubt,  have  inquired  how  it  occurred  before  I 
thought  of  superseding  an  officer  you  had  selected,  but  your 
explanation  more  than  justifies  his  appointment. '  So  you  see, 
Terence,  the  change  will  make  no  difference  in  your  position. 
And  as  I  fancy  Sir  Arthur  will  not  let  the  grass  grow  under 
his  feet,  you  are  likely  to  have  a  lively  time  of  it  before  long. 
By  the  way,  a  Gazette  has  arrived,  and  it  contains  the  appoint' 
went  of  your  two  men  to  commissions. 


WITH   THE   MAYOS  367 

While  waiting  at  Leirya,  Terence  had  ordered  uniforms  for 
all  the  officers.  He  had,  after  consultation  with  Herrara,  de- 
cided upon  one  approximating  rather  to  the  cavalry  than  to 
infantry  dress,  as  being  more  convenient  for  mounted  officers. 
It  consisted  of  tight -fitting  green  patrol  jacket,  breeches  of  the 
same  colour,  and  half-high  boots  and  a  gold-embroidered  belt 
and  slings.  The  two  English  officers  wore  a  yellow  band 
round  their  caps,  and  Herrara  a  gold  one. 

"  I  am  sure,  Colonel  O'Connor,"  Bull  said,  when  Terence 
told  Macwitty  and  him  that  they  had  been  gazetted  to  com- 
missions, "  we  cannot  thank  you  enough.  Macwitty  and  I 
have  done  our  best,  but  it  has  been  nothing  more  than  teach- 
ing drill  to  a  lot  of  recruits." 

"  We  had  two  or  three  hard  fights,  too,  Bull;  and  I  have 
very  good  reason  for  thinking  most  highly  of  you,  for  I  should 
never  have  got  the  corps  fnto  an  efficient  state  without  your 
assistance.  And,  indeed,  I  doubt  whether  I  should  have  vent- 
ured upon  the  task  at  all  if  I  had  not  been  sure  that  I  should 
be  well  seconded  by  you. ' ' 

"It  is  good  of  you  to  say  so,  Colonel,"  Macwitty  said; 
"  but  at  any  rate,  it  has  been  a  rare  bit  of  luck  for  us,  and 
little  did  we  think  when  we  were  ordered  to  accompany  you 
it  was  going  to  lead  to  our  getting  commissions.  Well,  we 
will  do  our  best  to  deserve  them." 

"  That  I  am  sure  you  will,  Macwitty ;  and  now  that  the 
campaign  is  going  to  commence  in  earnest,  and  we  may  have 
two  or  three  years'  hard  fighting,  you  may  have  opportunities 
of  getting  another  step  before  you  go  home." 

Three  days  later  an  order  came  to  Terence  to  march  north 
again  with  his  corps,  and  to  place  himself  in  some  defensible 
position  north  of  the  Mondego,  and  to  co-operate,  if  necessary, 
with  Trant  and  Silveira,  also  ordered  to  take  post  beyond  the 
river.  Cuesta,  the  Portuguese  general,  had  gathered  a  fresh 


368  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

army  of  six  thousand  cavalry  and  thirty  thousand  infantry. 
The  greater  portion  were  in  a  position  in  front  of  Victor's 
outposts.  Between  the  Tagus  and  the  Mondego  were  16,000 
Portuguese  troops  of  the  line,  under  Lord  Beresford,  that  had 
been  drilled  and  organized  to  some  extent  by  British  officers. 
The  British  and  German  troops  numbered  22,000  fighting  men. 

Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  at  Lisbon,  had  the  choice  of  either 
falling  upon  Victor  or  Soult.  The  former  would  be  the  most 
advantageous  operation,  but,  upon  the  other  hand,  the  Portu- 
guese were  most  anxious  to  recover  Oporto,  their  second  city, 
with  the  fertile  country  round  it. 

Another  fact  which  influenced  the  decision  was  that  Cuesta 
was  alike  incapable  and  obstinate,  and  was  wholly  indisposed 
to  co-operate  warmly  with  the  British.  The  British  com- 
mander, therefore,  decided  in  the  first  place  to  attack  Soult,  and 
the  force  at  Leirya  was  ordered  to  march  to  Coimbra.  Five 
British  battalions  and  two  regiments  of  cavalry,  with  7,000 
Portuguese  troops,  were  ordered  to  Abrantes  and  Santarem  to 
check  Victor,  should  he  endeavour  to  make  a  rapid  march 
upon  Lisbon.  Four  Portuguese  battalions  were  incorporated 
in  each  British  brigade  at  Coimbra,  Beresford  retaining  6,000 
under  his  personal  command.  On  the  2d  of  May  Sir 
Arthur  reached  Coimbra  and  reviewed  the  force,  25,000 
strong,  9,000  being  Portuguese,  3,000  Germans,  and  13,000 
British. 

Soult  was  badly  informed  of  the  storm  that  was  gathering 
about  him,  or  many  of  his  officers  were  disaffected,  and  were 
engaged  in  a  plot  to  have  him  supplanted  ;  consequently,  they 
kept  back  the  information  they  received  of  the  movements  of 
the  British. 


WHO  ARE  YOU,  SIR,  AND  WHAT  TROOPS  ARE  THESE?"   SIR  ARTHUR 
ASKED.  SHARPLY. 


Sketch  Map 

of 
NORTHERN  PORTUGAL. 

English  Miles 

20  40  60 


PORTUGAL   FREED  369 

CHAPTER  XXI 

PORTUGAL    FREED 

ON  the  Qth  of  May  Terence  was  directing  the  movements  of 
his  men,  who  were  practising  skirmishing  among  some 
rough  ground  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill  upon  which  he  had 
taken  up  his  position,  to  defend,  if  necessary,  the  road  that 
crossed  it.  His  men  had  thrown  up  several  lines  of  breast- 
works along  the  face  of  the  hill  to  a  point  where  steep  ravines 
protected  the  flank  of  his  position.  Presently  he  saw  a  party 
of  horsemen  riding  down  the  hill  behind  him.  They  reined  up 
suddenly  when  half-way  down  the  hill  and  paused  to  watch 
what  was  being  done ;  then  they  came  on  again.  As  they 
approached,  Terence  recognized  the  erect  figure  of  the  officer 
who  rode  at  the  head  of  the  party.  He  cantered  up  and  saluted. 

"  Who  are  you,  sir,  and  what  troops  are  these  ?  "  Sir  Arthur 
asked,  sharply. 

"  My  name  is  O'Connor,  sir.  These  men  constitute  the 
corps  that  I  have  the  honour  to  command." 

"  Form  them  up  in  line,"  the  general  said,  briefly. 

Terence  rode  away  at  a  gallop,  and  as  soon  as  he  reached 
the  spot  where  his  bugler  was  standing — for  bugles  had  now 
taken  the  place  of  the  horns  that  had  before  served  the  pur- 
pose— the  latter  at  once  blew  the  assembly,  and  then  the  order 
to  form  line.  The  men  dashed  down  at  the  top  of  their 
speed,  and  in  a  very  short  time  formed  up  in  a  long  line  with 
their  officers  in  front. 

"  Break  them  into  columns  of  companies,"  the  general,  who 
had  now  ridden  with  the  staff  to  the  front,  said. 

The  manoeuvre  was  performed  steadily  and  well. 

"  Send  out  the  alternate  companies  as  skirmishers,  while 
24 


370  WITH  MOORE  At  CORXJNNA 

the  other  companies  form  line  and  move  forward  in  support." 
When  this  had  been  done  the  order  came:  "Skirmishers, 
form  into  company  squares  to  resist  enemy's  cavalry." 

This  had  been  so  frequently  practised  that  in  a  few  seconds 
the  six  squares  were  formed  up  in  an  attitude  to  receive  cavalry. 

"That  is  very  well  done,  Colonel  O'Connor,"  Sir  Arthur 
said,  with  more  warmth  than  was  usual  with  him.  "Your 
men  are  well  in  hand  and  know  their  business.  It  is  a  very 
creditable  display,  indeed ;  you  have  proved  your  capacity 
for  command.  I  have  not  forgotten  what  I  have  heard  of 
you,  sir,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  your  services  are 
utilized." 

So  saying  he  rode  on.  Captain  Nelson  lingered  behind  for 
a  moment  to  shake  hands  with  Terence. 

"  You  may  feel  proud  of  that,  O'Connor,"  he  said ;  "Sir 
Arthur  is  not  given  to  praise,  I  can  assure  you.  Good-bye,  I 
must  catch  them  up;"  and,  turning,  he  soon  overtook  the 
general's  staff. 

That  the  general  was  well  satisfied  was  proved  by  the  fact 
that  three  days  later  the  following  appeared  in  general  orders : 

"  The  officer  commanding-in-chief  on  Thursday  inspected  the 
corps  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  (with  the  rank  of  colonel 
in  the  Portuguese  army)  O'  Connor.  He  was  much  pleased 
with  the  discipline  and  quickness  with  which  the  corps  went 
through  certain  movements  ordered  by  him.  This  corps  has  al- 
ready greatly  distinguished  itself,  and  Sir  Arthur  would  point 
to  it  as  an  example  to  be  imitated  by  all  officers  having  command 
of  Portuguese  troops. ' ' 

Soult's  position  had  now  become  very  dangerous.  The 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  insurgents  were  upon  the  Lima,  and 
the  principal  portion  of  his  own  force  was  south  of  the  Douro. 


PORTUGAL  FREED  371 

Franceschi's  cavalry,  supported  by  infantry  and  artillery,  and 
by  Mermet's  division,  occupied  the  country  between  that  river 
and  the  Vouga,  and  was  without  communication  with  the 
centre  at  Oporto,  except  by  the  bridge  of  boats. 

Although  aware  that  there  was  a  considerable  force  gather- 
ing at  Coimbra,  the  French  general  had  no  idea  that  the 
whole  of  the  British  army  was  assembling  there.  Confident 
that  success  would  attend  his  operations,  Sir  Arthur  directed 
the  Portuguese  corps  to  be  in  readiness  to  harass  Soult's  re- 
treat through  the  mountain  defiles  and  up  the  valley  of  the 
Tamega,  and  so  to  force  him  to  march  north  instead  of  mak- 
ing for  Salamanca,  where  he  could  unite  with  the  French  army 
there. 

A  mounted  officer  brought  similar  orders  to  Terence.  Half 
an  hour  after  receiving  them  the  corps  was  on  the  march. 
The  instructions  were  brief  and  simple  : 

"  You  will  endeavour  to  harass  Soult  as  he  retreats  across 
the  Tras-os-Montes,  and  try  to  head  him  off  to  the  north.  Act 
as  circumstances  may  dictate" 

The  service  was  a  dangerous  one,  and  Terence  felt  that  it 
was  a  high  honour  that  the  general  should  have  appointed 
him  to  undertake  it,  for  he  assuredly  would  not  have  sent  the 
corps  on  such  a  mission  had  he  not  considered  that  they  could 
be  relied  upon  to  take  care  of  themselves.  They  would  be 
wholly  unsupported  save  by  parties  of  peasants  and  ordenan- 
cas ;  they  would  have  to  operate  against  an  army  broken, 
doubtless,  by  defeat,  but  all  the  more  determined  to  push  on, 
as  delay  might  mean  total  loss. 

He  followed  the  line  of  the  Vouga  to  the  point  where  it 
emerged  from  the  hills,  crossed  these,  and  came  down  upon 
the  Douro  some  ten  miles  above  San  Joao,  at  nearly  the 


372  WITH   MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

same  spot  where  he  had  before  made  the  passage  when  on  his 
way  to  join  Roman  a. 

He  was  now  well  beyond  the  district  held  by  the  French 
south  of  the  Douro,  and,  obtaining  a  number  of  boats,  crossed 
the  river,  and  then  made  for  Mirandella  on  the  river  Tua,  and 
halted  some  distance  from  the  town,  having  made  a  march  of 
over  seventy  miles  in  two  days.  Learning  from  the  peasants 
that  there  were  no  French  troops  west  of  the  Tamega,  he 
marched  the  next  day  to  the  crest  looking  down  into  the 
valley,  and  here  halted  until  he  could  learn  that  Soult  was 
retreating,  and  what  road  he  was  following.  He  had  not  long 
to  wait  for  news,  for,  on  the  night  of  the  9th,  while  he  was  on 
his  march  by  the  Vouga,  the  British  force  had  moved  forward 
to  Aveiro.  Hill's  division  had  there  taken  boats,  and  pro- 
ceeding up  the  lake  to  Ovar,  had  landed  at  sunrise  on  the 
loth,  and  placed  himself  on  Franceschi's  right. 

In  the  meantime  Paget's  division  had  marched  to  Albergaria, 
while  Cotton's  division  and  Trant's  command  moved  to  turn 
Franceschi's  position  on  its  right.  The  darkness  and  their 
ignorance  of  the  roads  prevented  the  movement  being  attended 
with  the  hoped-for  success.  Had  the  operation  been  carried 
put  without  a  hitch,  Franceschi  and  Mermet  would  both  have 
been  driven  off  the  line  of  retreat  to  the  bridge  of  Oporto, 
and  must  have  been  captured  or  destroyed.  As  it  was, 
Franceschi  fell  back  fighting,  joined  Mermet' s  division  at  Crijo, 
a  day's  march  in  the  rear,  and  although  the  whole  were  driven 
on  the  following  day  from  this  position,  they  retired  in  good 
order,  and  that  night  effected  their  retreat  across  the  bridge 
of  boats,  which  was  then  destroyed. 

As  Franceschi's  report  informed  Soult  that  the  whole  force 
of  the  allies  was  now  upon  him,  he  at  once  sent  off  his  heavy 
artillery  and  baggage  by  the  road  to  Amarante.  Mermet  was 
posted  at  Valongo,  with  orders  to  patrol  the  river  and  to  seize 


PORTUGAL    FREED  373 

every  boat.  Those  at  Oporto  were  also  secured.  On  the 
morning  of  the  i2th  the  British  force  was  concentrated  behind 
the  hill  of  Villa  Nova,  and  Sir  Arthur  took  his  place  on  the 
top  of  the  Serra  Convent,  from  whence  he  commanded  a  view 
of  the  city  and  opposite  bank.  He  saw  that  the  French  force 
was  stationed  for  the  most  part  below  Oporto.  Franceschi's 
report  had  led  Soult  to  believe  that  Hill's  division  had  come 
by  sea,  and  he  expected  that  the  transports  would  go  up  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Douro,  and  that  the  British  would  attempt  to 
effect  a  landing  there. 

The  river  took  a  sharp  turn  round  the  Serra  Convent,  and 
Sir  Arthur  saw  that  another  large  convent  on  the  opposite 
bank,  known  as  the  Seminary,  was  concealed  by  the  hill  from 
Soult's  position,  and  that  it  might  be  occupied  without  attract- 
ing the  attention  of  the  French.  After  much  search  a  little 
boat  was  found  ;  in  this  a  few  men  crossed  and  brought  back 
two  large  boats  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  In  these 
the  troops  at  once  began  to  cross,  and  two  companies  had 
taken  possession  of  the  convent  before  Soult  was  aware  of 
what  was  going  on.  Then  a  prodigious  din  arose.  Troops 
were  hurried  through  the  town,  the  bugles  and  trumpets 
sounded  the  alarm,  while  the  populace  thronged  to  the  roofs 
of  their  houses  wildly  cheering  and  waving  handkerchiefs  and 
scarves,  and  the  church  bells  added  to  the  clamour. 

Three  batteries  of  artillery  had  been  brought  up  close  to  the 
Serra  Convent,  and  now  that  there  was  no  longer  need  of 
concealment  these  were  brought  forward,  and — as  the  French 
issued  from  the  town  and  hurried  towards  the  post  held  by 
the  two  companies  that  had  crossed — opened  a  heavy  fire 
upon  them.  The  French  pushed  on  gallantly  in  spite  of  this 
fire  and  the  musketry  of  the  soldiers,  but  the  wall  of  the  con- 
vent was  strong,  more  boats  had  been  obtained,  and  every 
minute  added  to  the  number  of  the  defenders.  The  attack 


374  WITH   MOORE   AT    CORUNNA 

was,  nevertheless,  obstinately  continued.  The  French  ar- 
tillery endeavoured  to  blow  in  the  gate,  and  for  a  time  the 
position  of  the  defenders  was  serious,  but  the  enemy's  troops 
were  now  evacuating  the  lower  part  of  the  town,  and  imme- 
diately they  did  so  the  inhabitants  brought  boats  over,  and  a 
brigade  under  Sherwood  crossed  there. 

In  the  meantime  General  Murray  had  been  sent  with  the 
German  division  to  effect  a  passage  of  the  river  two  miles 
farther  up.  Soult's  orders  to  take  possession  of  all  the  boats 
had  been  neglected,  and  it  was  not  long  before  Murray  crossed 
with  his  force.  The  confusion  in  the  French  line  of  retreat 
was  now  terrible.  A  battery  of  artillery,  who  brought  up  the 
rear,  were  smitten  by  the  fire  of  Sherwood's  men  ;  many  were 
killed,  and  the  rest  cut  their  traces  and  galloped  on  to  join 
the  retreating  army.  Sherwood's  men  pressed  these  in  the 
rear,  the  infantry  on  the  roof  of  the  Seminary  poured  their 
fire  on  the  retiring  masses,  and  the  guns  on  the  Serra  rock 
swept  the  long  line. 

Had  Murray  now  fallen  upon  the  disordered  crowd  their 
discomfiture  would  have  been  complete,  but  he  held  his  force 
inactive,  afraid  that  the  French  might  turn  upon  him  and 
drive  him  into  the  river.  General  Stewart  and  Major  Harvey, 
furious  at  his  inactivity,  charged  the  French  at  the  head  of 
two  squadrons  of  cavalry  only,  dashed  through  the  enemy's 
column,  unhorsed  General  Laborde  and  wounded  General 
Foy.  Receiving,  however,  no  support  whatever  from  Murray, 
the  gallant  little  band  of  cavalry  were  forced  to  fight  their 
way  back  with  loss.  Thus,  as  Franceschi  had  been  saved 
from  destruction  from  an  error  as  to  the  road,  Soult  was 
saved  the  loss  of  this  army  by  Murray's  timidity,  and  in  both 
cases  Sir  Arthur's  masterly  plans  failed  in  attaining  the  com- 
plete success  they  deserved. 

Terence  had  engaged  several  peasants  to  watch  the  roads 


PORTUGAL   FREED  375 

leading  from  Oporto,  and  as  soon  as  he  learned  that  a  long 
train  of  baggage  and  heavy  guns  was  leaving  the  city  by  the 
road  to  Amarante,  he  crossed  the  valley,  took  up  a  position 
on  the  Catalena  hill  flanking  the  road,  and  as  the  waggons 
came  along  opened  a  sudden  and  heavy  fire  upon  them.  Al- 
though protected  by  a  strong  guard  the  convoy  fell  into  con- 
fusion, many  of  the  horses  being  killed  by  the  first  volley. 
Some  of  the  drivers  leapt  from  their  seats  and  deserted  their 
charges,  others  flogged  their  horses,  and  tried  to  push  through 
the  struggling  mass.  An  incessant  fire  was  kept  up,  but  just 
as  Terence  was  about  to  order  the  whole  corps  to  charge  down 
and  complete  the  work,  a  large  body  of  cavalry,  followed  by 
a  heavy  body  of  infantry,  appeared  on  the  scene. 

This  was  Merle's  division,  that  had  hastened  up  from  Va- 
longa  on  hearing  the  firing.  The  advance  of  the  cavalry  was 
checked  by  the  musketry  fire,  but  Merle  at  once  ordered  his 
infantry  to  mount  the  hill  and  drive  the  Portuguese  off.  The 
latter  stood  their  ground  gallantly  for  some  time,  inflicting 
heavy  loss  upon  their  assailants.  Terence  saw,  however,  that 
he  could  not  hope  to  withstand  long  the  attack  of  a  whole 
French  division,  and  leaving  two  companies  behind  to  check 
the  enemy's  advance,  he  marched  along  the  crest  of  the  hill 
until  he  came  upon  the  road  crossing  from  Amarante  to  the 
Ave  river. 

By  this  time  he  had  been  joined  by  the  rear-guard,  who  had 
retired  in  time  to  make  their  escape  before  the  French  reached 
the  top  of  the  hill.  Merle  posted  a  brigade  along  the  crest  of 
the  ridge  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  attack,  and  to  cover 
Soult's  line  of  retreat,  if  he  were  forced  to  fall  back  ;  while 
Terence  took  up  his  position  near  Pombeiro,  whence  he  pres- 
ently saw  the  convoy  enter  Amarante.  He  had  the  satisfac- 
tion, however,  of  noticing  that  it  was  greatly  diminished  in 
length,  a  great  many  of  the  waggons  having  been  left  behind 


WITH   MOORE   At  CORtJNtfA 

owing  to  the  number  of  horses  that  had  been  killed.  His  at- 
tack had  had  another  advantage  of  which  he  was  unaware,  for 
it  had  so  occupied  Merle's  attention  that  he  had  neglected  to 
have  all  the  boats  taken  across  the  river,  which  enabled  Mur- 
ray's command  to  cross  the  next  day,  an  error  which,  had 
Murray  been  possessed  of  any  dash  and  energy,  would  have 
proved  fatal  to  the  French  army. 

The  next  day  Terence  heard  the  sound  of  the  guns  on  the 
Serra  height,  but  the  distance  was  too  great  for  the  crack  of 
musketry  to  reach  him,  and  he  had  no  idea  that  the  British 
were  crossing  the  river  until  he  saw  the  French  marching 
across  the  mouth  of  the  valley  towards  Amarante.  Among 
such  veteran  troops  discipline  was  speedly  recovered,  and 
they  encamped  in  good  order  in  the  valley.  That  town  was, 
however,  in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  Loison,  either  from 
treachery  or  incapacity,  having  disobeyed  Soult's  orders  and 
retired  before  the  advance  of  the  Portuguese  force  under  Lord 
Beresford,  and,  evacuating  Amarante,  taken  the  road  to  Gui- 
maraens,  passing  by  Pombeiro. 

He  had  sent  no  news  to  Soult,  and  the  latter  general  was 
altogether  ignorant  that  he  had  left  Amarante.  Upon  re- 
ceiving the  news  from  the  head  of  the  column  he  at  once  saw 
that  the  position  had  now  become  a  desperate  one.  Beresford, 
he  learned  at  the  same  time,  had  marched  up  the  Tamega 
valley  to  take  post  at  Chaves,  where  Silveira  had  joined  him. 
A  retreat  in  that  direction,  therefore,  was  impossible,  and  he 
at  once  destroyed  his  baggage,  spiked  his  guns,  and  at  night- 
fall, guided  by  a  peasant,  ascended  a  path  up  the  Serra  Cata- 
lena,  and,  marching  all  night,  rejoined  Loison  at  Guimaraens, 
passing  on  his  way  through  Pombeiro.  Terence  had  left  the 
place  a  few  hours  before,  believing  that  Soult  must  return  up 
the  valley  of  the  Tamega,  and,  ignorant  that  Beresford  and 
Silveira  barred  the  way,  he  marched  after  nightfall  towards 


PORTUGAL    FREED  377 

Chaves  and  took  up  a  position  where  he  could  arrest,  for  a 
time,  the  retreat  of  the  French  army. 

He  had  left  two  of  his  men  at  Pombeiro,  and  had  halted 
but  a  short  time  after  completing  his  long  and  arduous  march 
when  his  two  men  came  up  with  the  news  that  Soult  had 
passed  by  the  very  place  he  had  a  few  hours  before  left.  As 
there  was  more  than  one  route  open  to  Soult,  Terence  was 
unable  to  decide  which  he  had  best  take.  His  men  had  al- 
ready performed  a  very  long  march,  and  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  give  them  a  rest;  he  therefore  allowed  them  to 
sleep  during  the  day.  Towards  evening  he  crossed  the  Serra 
de  Cabrierra  and  came  down  upon  Salamende,  and  sent  out 
scouts  for  news.  Destroying  the  guns,  ammunition,  and  bag- 
gage of  Loison's  division,  Soult  reached  the  Carvalho  on  the 
evening  of  the  i4th,  drew  up  his  army  on  the  position  that 
he  had  occupied  two  months  before  at  the  battle  of  Braga,  re- 
organized his  forces,  and  ordering  Loison  to  lead  the  advance, 
while  he  himself  took  command  of  the  rear,  continued  his 
march.  The  next  day  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  who  had  been 
obliged  to  halt  at  Oporto  until  the  whole  army,  with  its  artil- 
lery and  train,  had  passed  the  river,  reached  Braga,  having 
marched  by  a  much  shorter  road. 

Terence's  scouts  brought  news  that  the  whole  of  the  French 
army  were  marching  towards  Salamende.  Wholly  unsup- 
ported as  he  was,  ignorant  of  the  position  of  Beresford  and 
Silveira,  and  knowing  nothing  of  Sir  Arthur's  march  towards 
Braga,  he  decided  not  to  attempt  with  his  force  to  bar  the 
way  to  Soult's  twenty  thousand  men,  but  to  hold  Salamende 
for  a  time  and  then  fall  back  up  the  mountains.  Before  do- 
ing so  he  sent  a  party  to  blow  up  the  bridge  at  Ponte  Nova 
across  the  Cavado,  and  also  sent  his  second  regiment  to  de- 
fend the  passage  at  Riuvaens. 

Thinking  it  likely  that  Soult  would  again  cross  the 


378  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

tains  to  Chaves,  he  sent  Herrara  in  command  of  the  force  at 
the  bridge,  while  he  himself  remained  at  Salamende.  Here  he 
had  the  houses  facing  the  road  by  which  the  enemy  would 
approach,  loopholed  and  the  road  itself  barricaded.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  the  French  cavalry  were  seen  approaching,  and 
a  heavy  fire  was  at  once  opened  upon  them.  The  rapidity  of 
the  discharges  showed  Franceschi  that  the  place  was  held  by 
more  than  a  mere  party  of  peasants,  and  he  drew  off  his 
cavalry  and  allowed  the  infantry  to  pass  him.  For  half  an 
hour  the  Portuguese  held  their  ground  and  repulsed  three  de- 
termined assaults  ;  then,  seeing  a  strong  body  of  troops  ascend- 
ing the  hillside  to  take  the  position  in  flank,  Terence  ordered 
his  troops  to  fall  back.  This  they  did  in  good  order,  and 
took  up  a  position  high  up  on  the  hill. 

The  French  made  but  a  short  pause  ;  a  small  body  of  cav- 
alry that  Soult  had  left  near  Braga  brought  him  the  news  that 
the  British  army  was  entering  that  town.  Scouts  were  sent 
forward  at  once,  and  their  report  that  the  bridge  of  Pduvaens 
was  destroyed,  and  that  1,200  Portuguese  regular  troops  were 
on  the  opposite  bank,  decided  him  to  take  the  road  by  the 
Ponte  Nova.  The  night  was  a  terrible  one  ;  the  rain  had  for 
two  days  been  continuous,  and  the  troops  were  drenched  to 
the  skin  and  impatient  at  the  hardship  that  they  had  suffered. 
The  scouts  reported  that  the  bridge  here  had  also  been  de- 
stroyed, but  that  one  of  the  parapets  was  still  unbroken,  and 
that  the  force  on  the  other  side  consisted  only  of  peasants. 
Soult  ordered  Major  Doulong,  an  officer  celebrated  for  his 
courage,  to  take  a  hundred  grenadiers  and  secure  the  passage. 

A  violent  storm  was  now  raging,  and  their  footsteps  being 
deadened  by  the  roar  of  the  wind,  the  French  crept  up,  killed 
the  Portuguese  sentry  on  their  side  of  the  bridge  before  he 
could  give  the  alarm,  and  then  crawled  across  the  narrow  line 
of  masonry.  Then  they  rushed  up  the  opposite  heights, 


PORTUGAL   FREED  379 

shouting  and  firing,  and  the  peasantry,  believing  that  the 
whole  French  army  were  upon  them,  fled  at  once.  The 
bridge  was  hastily  repaired,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing the  whole  of  the  French  army  had  crossed.  Their  retreat 
was  opposed  at  a  bridge  of  a  single  arch  over  a  torrent,  by 
a  party  of  Portuguese  peasantry,  but  after  two  repulses  the 
French,  led  by  Major  Doulong,  carried  it. 

They  were  just  in  time,  for  in  the  afternoon  the  British 
came  upon  a  strong  rear-guard  left  at  Salamende.  Some  light 
troops  at  once  turned  their  flank,  while  Sherwood  attacked 
them  in  front,  and  they  fled  in  confusion  to  the  Ponte  Nova. 
As  the  general  imagined  that  Soult  would  take  the  other  road, 
their  retreat  in  this  direction  was  for  some  time  unperceived, 
but  just  as  they  were  crossing,  the  British  artillery  opened 
fire  upon  the  bridge  with  terrible  effect,  very  many  of  the 
enemy  being  killed  before  they  could  effect  a  passage.  Their 
further  retreat  was  performed  without  molestation.  The  Brit- 
ish troops  had  made  very  long  marches  in  the  hopes  of  cut- 
ting Soult's  line  of  retreat,  and  as  the  French,  unlike  the 
British,  carried  no  provisions  for  their  march,  there  was  now 
little  hope  of  overtaking  them,  especially  as  their  main  body 
was  far  ahead. 

Sir  Arthur  halted  for  a  day  at  Riuvaens,  where  Terence's 
corps  was  now  concentrated,  he  having  marched  there  the 
night  he  was  driven  out  of  Salamende.  As  soon  as  the  Brit- 
ish entered  the  place,  the  general  inquired  what  corps  was 
holding  it,  and  at  once  sent  for  Terence. 

"Let  me  hear  what  you  have  been  doing,  Colonel 
O'Connor." 

Terence  had,  as  soon  as  he  heard  that  the  army  had  arrived 
at  Salamende,  written  out  a  report  of  his  movements  from  the 
time  that  he  had  marched  from  Vouga.  He  now  presented 
it.  The  general  waved  it  aside. 


380  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

"  Tell  me  yourself,"  he  said. 

Terence  related  as  briefly  as  possible  the  course  he  had 
followed,  and  the  reasons  of  his  movements. 

"  Good  !  "  the  general  said,  when  he  had  finished.  "  Your 
calculations  were  all  well  founded ;  but,  of  course,  you  could 
not  calculate  on  Soult's  night  march  across  the  Catalena  hills, 
and,  as  you  knew  nothing  of  the  whereabouts  of  Beresford 
and  Silveira,  you  had  good  reason  to  suppose  that  Soult  would 
continue  his  march  up  the  valley  of  the  Tamega  to  Chaves. 
That  was  the  only  mistake  you  committed,  and  an  older  sol- 
dier might  well  have  fallen  into  the  same  error.  When  you 
had  found  out  your  mistake,  you  acted  promptly,  and  could 
not  have  done  better  than  to  proceed  to  Salamende.  You 
did  well  to  destroy  both  bridges,  and  to  place  half  your  force 
to  defend  the  passage  here,  for  you  naturally  supposed,  as  I  sup- 
posed myself,  that  Soult  would  follow  this  road  down  to  Chaves. 

"  You  were  again  deceived,  but  were  in  no  way  to  blame. 
Your  position  was  most  judiciously  chosen  on  the  Catalena 
hills  on  Soult's  natural  line  of  retreat,  and  I  heard  that  the 
enemy's  baggage  train  had  been  very  severely  mauled,  and 
was  only  saved  from  destruction  by  Merle  deploying  his  whole 
division  against  the  force  attacking  it.  Again  I  see  you  made 
a  stout  defence  at  Salamende.  We  saw  a  large  number  of 
French  dead  there  as  we  marched  in.  If  everyone  else  had 
done  as  well  as  you  have  done,  young  sir,  Soult's  army  would 
never  have  escaped  me. " 

Terence  bowed,  and  retired  deeply  gratified,  for  he  had 
been  doubtful  what  his  reception  would  be.  He  knew  that 
he  had  done  his  best,  but  twice  he  had  been  mistaken,  and 
each  time  the  mistake  had  allowed  Soult  to  pass  unmolested ; 
and  he  was,  therefore,  all  the  more  pleased  on  learning  that 
so  skilful  a  general  had  declared  that  these  mistakes,  although 
unfortunate,  were  yet  natural. 


PORTUGAL    FREED  381 

Soult  reached  Orense  on  the  2oth,  without  guns,  stores, 
ammunition,  or  baggage,  his  men  exhausted  with  fatigue  and 
misery,  most  of  them  shoeless,  and  some  without  muskets. 
He  had  left  Orense  seventy-six  days  before  with  22,000  men, 
and  had  lately  been  joined  by  3,500  from  Tuy.  He  returned 
with  19,500,  having  lost  6,000  by  sword,  sickness,  assassina- 
tion, and  capture.  Of  these  3,600  were  taken  in  the  hospitals 
at  Oporto,  Chaves,  Vianna,  and  Braga.  One  thousand  were 
killed  in  the  advance,  and  the  remainder  captured  or  killed 
within  the  last  eight  days. 

A  day  later  the  news  arrived  that  Victor  was  at  last  ad- 
vancing and  a  considerable  number  of  the  troops  assembled 
at  Salamende,  among  them  Terence's  corps,  were  ordered  to 
march  to  join  the  force  opposed  to  him.  Terence  started  two 
hours  before  the  bulk  of  the  force  got  into  motion,  and 
traversing  the  ground  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  struck  the  road 
from  Lisbon  a  day  in  advance  of  the  British  troops.  There 
was,  however,  no  occasion  for  action,  for  Victor,  who  had 
taken  Abrantes,  had,  on  receiving  news  of  the  fall  of  Oporto, 
at  once  evacuated  that  town  and  fallen  back,  and  for  a  time 
all  operations  ceased  on  that  side. 

The  British  army  had  suffered  but  slight  loss  in  battle,  but 
the  long  marches,  the  terribly  wet  weather,  and  the  effect  of 
climate  told  heavily  upon  them,  and  upwards  of  4,000  men 
were,  in  a  short  time,  in  hospital. 

Fortunately,  however,  a  reinforcement  of  equal  strength 
arrived  from  England,  and  the  fighting  strength  of  the  army 
was  therefore  maintained.  There  was  still,  however,  a  great 
want  of  transport  animals  ;  the  commissariat  were,  for  the 
most  part,  new  to  their  duties,  and  ignorant  of  the  language. 
Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  was  engaged  in  the  endeavour  to  get 
Cuesta  to  co-operate  with  him,  but  the  obstinate  old  man 
refused  to  do  so  unless  his  plans  were  adopted;  and  these 


382  WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

were  of  so  wild  and  impracticable  a  character  that  Sir  Arthur 
preferred  to  act  alone,  especially  as  Cuesta's  army  had  already 
been  repeatedly  beaten  by  the  French,  and  the  utter  worth- 
lessness  of  his  soldiers  demonstrated. 

The  pause  of  operations  in  Spain,  entailed  by  the  concen- 
tration of  the  commands  of  Soult,  Ney,  Victor,  and  Lapisse 
on  the  frontier,  had  given  breathing  time  to  Spain.  Large 
armies  had  again  been  raised,  and  the  same  confident  ideas, 
the  same  jealousy  between  generals,  and  the  same  quarrels 
between  the  Juntas  had  been  prevalent.  Once  again  Spain 
was  confident  that  she  could  alone,  and  unaided,  drive  the 
French  across  the  frontier  altogether,  forgetful  of  the  easy 
and  crushing  defeats  that  had  before  been  inflicted  upon  her. 
Like  Moore,  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  was  to  some  extent  deceived 
by  these  boastings,  and  believed  that  he  should  obtain  material 
assistance  in  the  way  of  transports  and  provisions,  and  that  at 
least  valuable  diversions  might  be  made  by  the  Spanish  army. 

He  accepted,  too,  to  some  extent,  the  estimate  of  the  Span- 
iards as  to  the  strength  of  the  French,  and  believed  that  their 
fighting  force  in  the  Peninsula  did  not  exceed  130,000  men, 
whereas  in  reality  it  amounted  to  over  250,000.  The  greatest 
impediment  to  the  advance  was  the  want  of  money,  for  while 
the  British  government  continued  to  pour  vast  sums  into 
Cadiz  and  Seville,  for  the  use  of  the  Spaniards,  they  were 
unable  to  find  money  for  the  advance  of  their  own  army. 
The  soldiers  consequently  were  unpaid,  badly  fed,  almost  in 
rags,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  shoeless ;  and  to  meet  the 
most  urgent  wants,  the  general  was  forced  to  raise  loans  at 
exorbitant  rates  at  Lisbon.  And  yet,  while  a  great  general 
and  a  victorious  army  were  nearly  starving  in  Portugal,  the 
British  government  had  landed  12,000  troops  in  Italy  and  had 
despatched  one  of  the  finest  expeditions  that  ever  sailed  from 
England,  consisting  of  40,000  troops  and  as  many  seamen  and 


PORTUGAL    FREED  383 

marines  of  the  fleet,  to  Walcheren,  where  no  small  proportion 
of  them  died  of  fever,  and  the  rest  returned  home  broken  in 
health  and  unfit  for  active  service,  without  having  performed  a 
single  action  worthy  of  merit. 

The  Mayo  Fusiliers  were  among  the  regiments  stationed  at 
Abrantes,  and  Terence  received  orders  to  take  up  a  position 
four  miles  ahead  of  that  town,  and  hold  it  unless  Victor  again 
advanced  in  overwhelming  strength,  and  then  to  fall  back  on 
Abrantes.  This  exactly  suited  his  own  wishes.  It  was  pleas- 
ant to  him  to  be  within  a  short  ride  of  his  old  regiment, 
while  at  the  same  time  his  corps  were  not  encamped  with  a 
British  division,  for  his  own  position  was  an  anomalous  one, 
and  among  the  officers  who  did  not  know  him  he  was  re- 
garded as  a  young  staff-officer.  He  could  not  explain  the 
position  he  held  without  constantly  repeating  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  gained  a  commission  as  colonel  in  the  Portuguese 
service. 

During  the  month  that  had  passed  without  movement,  he 
continued  his  efforts  to  improve  his  corps,  and  borrowed  a 
dozen  non-commissioned  officers  from  Colonel  Corcoran  to  in- 
struct his  sergeants  in  their  duty,  and  thus  enable  them  to 
train  others  and  relieve  the  officers  of  some  of  their  work.  He 
had  in  his  first  report  stated  that  he  had  kept  back  ^£1,000  of 
the  money  he  carried  to  Romana  for  the  use  of  his  corps,  and 
as  he  had  never  received  any  comment  or  instructions  as  to 
the  portion  that  had  not  been  expended,  he  had  still  some 
money  in  hand.  This  he  spent  in  supplementing  the  scanty 
rations  served  out.  Frequently  he  rode  into  Abrantes  and 
spent  the  evening  with  the  Mayo  Fusiliers.  The  first  time  he 
did  so  he  requested  the  officers  always  to  call  him,  as  before, 
Terence  O'Connor. 

"It  is  absurd  being  addressed  as  colonel  when  I  am  only  a 
lieutenant  in  the  service.  Of  course  when  I  am  with  the  corps 


384  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

it  is  a  different  thing ;  I  am  its  colonel,  and  must  be  called  so ; 
but  it  is  really  very  annoying  to  be  called  so  here." 

"You  must  be  feeling  quite  rusty,"  Colonel  Corcoran  said 
to  him,  "  sitting  here  doing  nothing,  after  nine  months  of  in- 
cessant moving  about." 

"  I  am  not  rusting,  Colonel,  I  am  hard  at  work  sharpening 
my  blade;  that  is,  improving  my  corps.  Your  men  drill  my 
sergeants  four  hours  a  day,  and  for  the  other  eight  each  of 
them  is  repeating  the  instructions  that  he  has  received  to  three 
others.  So  that  by  the  time  we  are  in  movement  again  I 
hope  to  have  a  sergeant  who  knows  something  of  his  duty  to 
each  fifty  men.  I  can  assure  you  that  in  addition  to  the  great 
need  for  such  men  when  the  troops  are  out  skirmishing,  or 
otherwise  detached  in  small  parties,  I  felt  that  their  appear- 
ance on  parade  was  greatly  marred  by  the  fact  that  the  non-com- 
missioned officers  did  not  know  their  proper  places  or  their 
proper  work,  which  neither  Bull  nor  Macwitty,  nor  indeed  the 
company  officers,  could  instruct  them  in,  all  being  cavalrymen. " 

"Yes,  I  noticed  that  when  I  saw  them  at  Leirya,"  the 
colonel  said.  "  Of  course  it  was  of  no  consequence  at  all  as  far 
as  their  efficiency  went,  but  to  the  eye  of  an  English  officer, 
naturally,  something  seemed  wanting." 

"  I  should  be  glad  of  at  least  four  more  officers  to  each  com- 
pany, and  at  one  time  thought  of  writing  to  Lord  Beresford 
to  ask  him  to  supply  me  with  some,  but  I  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  we  had  better  leave  matters  as  they  were.  In  the 
first  place  young  officers  would  know  nothing  of  their  work, 
and  nothing  of  me ;  and  in  the  second  place,  if  they  were  men 
of  good  family  they  would  not  like  serving  under  officers  who 
have  been  raised  from  the  ranks ;  and  lastly,  if  they  became 
discontented,  they  might  render  the  men  so.  We  have  done 
very  fairly  at  present,  and  we  had  better  go  on  as  we  are ; 
and  when  I  get  a  sufficient  number  of  trained  men  to  furnish  a 


PORTUGAL  FREED  385 

full  supply  of  non-commissioned  officers,  I  shall  do  better  than 
with  commissioned  ones,  for  the  men  are  of  course  carefully 
selected,  and  I  know  them  to  be  trustworthy,  whereas  those 
they  sent  me  might  be  idle,  or  worse  than  useless." 

"  You  spake  like  King  Solomon,  Terence,"  O'Grady  said  ; 
"  not  that  he  can  have  known  anything  whatever  about  mili- 
tary matters." 

A  roar  of  laughter  greeted  this  very  doubtful  compliment. 

"  Thank  you,  O'Grady,"  Terence  said.  "  That  is  one  of 
the  prettiest  speeches  I  have  heard  for  a  long  time.  I  shall 
know  where  to  come  for  a  character. ' ' 

'  *  You  are  right  there,  Terence ;  but  you  may  live  a  good 
many  years  before  you  get  a  chance  of  calling  a  whole  British 
army  under  arms,  as  you  did  at  Salamanca." 

Terence  was  at  once  assailed  with  a  storm  of  questions,  for 
with  the  exception  of  O'Grady,  no  one  had  suspected  the  share 
that  he  and  Dicky  Ryan  had  had  in  that  affair.  Terence 
knew  that  the  latter  had  kept  the  secret,  for  he  had  asked  him 
only  two  or  three  days  before,  and  he  therefore  assumed  an 
expression  of  innocence. 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  mean,  O'Grady?  " 

"What  do  I  mane?  Why,  that  somehow  or  other  you 
were  at  the  bottom  of  that  shindy  when  all  the  troops  were 
turned  out  on  a  false  alarm." 

"Really,  O'Grady,  that  is  too  bad.  You  know  that  every 
trick  that  was  played  at  Athlone  was  your  suggestion,  and  as 
we  never  could  find  out  how  that  alarm  originated,  of  course 
you  put  it  down  to  me,  whereas  it  is  just  as  likely  to  have 
been  your  own  work.  Colonel  Corcoran  knows  that  Dicky 
and  I  were  in  the  mess-room  at  the  convent  at  the  time  when 
the  alarm  broke  out." 

"  That  was  so,"  the  colonel  agreed,  "  for  I  know  that  you 
were  talking  to  me  when  Hoolan  ran  in  and  told  us  that 
25 


WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

there  was  a  row  in  the  town.  On  what  do  you  base  your  sus- 
picions, O'Grady?" 

"  Just  upon  me  knowledge  of  the  two  lads,  Colonel.  Faith, 
there  never  was  a  piece  of  mischief  afloat  that  they  were  not 
mixed  up  with." 

"  If  that  is  all  you  have  to  say,  O'Grady,"  Terence  replied, 
"  I  should  advise  you  not  to  go  hunting  for  mares'  nests  again. 
I  know  that  you  can  see  as  far  into  a  brick  wall  as  most  peo- 
ple, but  you  cannot  see  what  is  going  on  on  the  other  side." 

"All  the  same,  Terence,"  O'Grady  said,  doggedly,  "to 
the  end  of  me  life  I  will  always  believe  that  you  had  a  hand 
in  the  matter.  There  is  no  one  else  that  I  know  of  except 
you  and  Ryan  who  would  have  had  the  cheek  to  do  such  a 
thing,  and  I  don't  believe  that  you  can  deny  it  yourself." 

"  I  shall  not  trouble  myself  to  plead  not  guilty,  except  be- 
fore a  regularly  constituted  court,"  Terence  laughed.  "At 
any  rate,  as  when  the  march  begins  we  shall  go  on  first  as 
scouts,  it  may  be  that  I  shall  send  in  news  which  will  turn  out 
a  British  army  again." 

"  I  will  forgive  you  if  you  do,  for  it  is  likely  that  we  should 
have  some  divarsion  after  turning  out,  instead  of  marching 
out  and  back  again  like  a  regiment  of  omadhauns. ' ' 


CHAPTER   XXII 

NEWS    FROM    HOME 

A  WEEK  after  arriving  at  Abrantes,  seeing  that  there  was 
no  probability  whatever  of  fighting  for  a  time,  Terence 
had  suggested  to  Herrara  that  it  would  be  a  good  opportunity 
for  him  to  run  down  to  Lisbon  for  a  few  days  to  see  his  fian- 
c6e  and  his  friends  in  the  town. 


NEWS   FROM   HOME  38? 

"  I  don't  know  who  you  really  ought  to  apply  to  for  leave," 
he  said,  "  but  as  we  are  a  sort  of  half-independent  corps,  it 
seems  the  simplest  way  for  me  to  take  the  responsibility.  No- 
body is  ever  likely  to  ask  any  questions  about  it ;  and  now 
that  it  will  simply  be  a  matter  of  hard  drill  till  the  army 
moves  again,  you  can  be  very  well  spared.  If  it  is  company 
work,  it  is  the  captain's  business.  If  the  two  regiments  are 
manoeuvring  together,  they  will  of  course  be  under  Bull  and 
Macwitty,  and  I  should  be  acting  as  brigadier." 

"  I  should  like  to  go  very  much,"  Herrara  said.  "  I  have 
not  yet  had  the  pleasure  of  introducing  myself  to  my  family 
and  friends  as  a  lieutenant-colonel.  Of  course,  I  wrote  to  my 
people  when  I  received  the  commission  from  Lord  Beresford  ; 
but  it  would  be  really  fun  to  surprise  some  of  my  school-fel- 
lows and  comrades,  so  if  you  think  that  it  will  not  be  incon- 
venient I  should  like  very  much  to  go." 

"Then  if  I  were  you  I  should  start  at  once.  I  will  give 
you  a  sort  of  formal  letter  of  leave  in  case  you  are  questioned 
as  you  go  down.  You  can  get  to  Santarem  to-night  and  to 
Lisbon  to-morrow  afternoon." 

"  Is  there  anything  that  I  can  do  for  you  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  I  wish  you  would  ask  Don  Jose  if  he  will,  through 
his  friends  at  Oporto,  find  out  whether  my  cousin's  mother 
was  there  at  the  time  the  French  entered,  and  if  she  was, 
whether  she  got  through  that  horrible  business  unhurt.  I  have 
been  hearing  about  it  from  my  friends,  who  were  a  couple  of 
days  there  before  the  force  marched  to  Braga.  They  tell  me 
that,  by  all  accounts,  the  business  was  even  worse  than  we 
feared.  The  French  came  upon  some  of  their  comrades  tied 
to  posts  in  the  great  square,  horribly  mutilated,  some  of  them 
with  their  eyes  put  out,  still  living,  and  after  that  they  spared 
no  one  ;  and  upon  my  word,  I  can  hardly  blame  them,  and 
\n  fact  don't  blame  them  at  all,  so  long  as  they  only  wreaked 


388  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

their  vengeance  on  men.  The  people  made  it  worse  for  them- 
selves by  keeping  up  a  desultory  fire  from  windows  and  house- 
tops when  resistance  had  long  ceased  to  be  of  any  use ;  and, 
of  course,  seeing  their  comrades  shot  down  in  this  way  infu- 
riated the  troops  still  further. 

"  I  don't  suppose  it  will  make  the  slightest  difference  in  the 
world  to  my  cousin  whether  her  mother  is  dead  or  not,  for  I 
fancy  from  what  Mary  said  that  her  mother  never  cared  for 
her  in  the  slightest.  Possibly  she  was  jealous  that  the  child 
had  the  first  place  in  the  father's  affections.  However  that 
may  be,  there  was  certainly  no  great  love  between  them,  and 
of  course  her  subsequent  treatment  of  my  cousin  destroyed  any 
affection  that  might  have  existed.  That  either  by  some  deed 
executed  at  the  time  of  marriage,  or  by  Portuguese  law,  Mary 
has  a  right  to  the  estate  at  her  mother's  death,  is  clear  from  the 
efforts  they  made  to  get  her  to  renounce  that  right.  Still, 
there  is  no  more  chance  of  her  ever  inheriting  it  than  there 
would  be  of  her  flying.  As  a  nun  she  would  naturally  have 
to  renounce  all  property,  and  no  doubt  the  law  of  this  priest- 
ridden  country  would  decide  that  she  had  done  so.  She  tells 
me — and  I  am  sure,  truly — that  she  refused  to  open  her  lips 
to  say  a  single  word  when  she  was  forced  to  go  through  the 
ceremony ;  but  as,  no  doubt,  a  score  of  witnesses  would  be 
brought  forward  to  swear  that  she  answered  all  the  usual  ques- 
tions and  renounced  all  worldly  possessions,  that  denial  would 
go  for  nothing." 

"Besides,"  Herrara  said,  '•  it  would  never  do  for  her  to  set 
foot  in  Portugal.  She  would  be  seized  as  an  escaped  nun  im- 
mediately, and  would  never  be  heard  of  again." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that  that  would  be  so,  Herrara  ;  and  as 
she  has  a  nice  fortune  from  her  father,  you  may  be  sure  that 
she  will  not  trouble  about  the  estates  here,  and  her  mother 
would  be  welcome  to  do  as  she  likes  with  them,  which  is,  after 


NEWS    FROM    HOME  389 

all,  not  unreasonable,  as  they  are  her  property  and  descended 
to  her  from  her  father.  Still,  I  should  be  glad  to  learn,  if  it 
does  not  give  any  great  trouble,  whether  if,  as  is  almost  certain 
— for  the  people  from  all  the  country  round  took  refuge  there 
long  before  the  French  arrived — she  was  in  Oporto,  and  if  so, 
whether  she  got  through  the  sack  of  the  town  unharmed.  No 
doubt  Mary  would  be  glad  to  hear." 

' '  I  am  sure  Don  Jose  would  be  able  to  find  out  for  you  with- 
out any  difficulty,"  Herrara  said  ;  "  indeed  I  expect  he  will 
soon  be  going  back  there  himself.  Now  that  there  is  a  British 
garrison  in  the  town,  that  the  bishop  must  be  utterly  discredited 
there,  and  a  good  many  of  his  Junta  must  have  been  killed, 
while  the  rabble  of  the  town  has  been  thoroughly  discomfited, 
the  place  will  be  more  comfortable  to  live  in  than  it  has  been 
for  a  long  time  past.  Is  there  anything  else  I  can  do  for  you  ?  ' ' 

"Nothing  whatever." 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  Herrara  left  for  Lisbon,  bear- 
ing many  messages  of  kind  regards  on  Terence's  part  to  Don 
Jose  and  his  family.  Terence's  last  words  were  : 

"  By  the  way,  Herrara,  if  you  should  be  able  to  find  at  any 
store  in  Lisbon  some  Irish  whisky,  I  wish  you  would  get  six 
dozen  cases  for  me,  or  what  would  be  more  handy,  a  sixteen 
or  eighteen  gallon  keg,  and  could  get  it  sent  on  by  some  cart 
coming  here,  I  should  be  very  much  obliged.  It  had  better 
be  sent  to  me,  care  of  Colonel  Corcoran,  Mayo  Fusiliers, 
Abrantes.  I  should  like  to  be  able  to  give  a  glass  to  my 
friends  when  they  ride  out  to  see  me.  But  have  the  barrel  or 
cases  sewn  up  in  canvas  before  the  address  is  put  on  ;  I  would 
not  trust  it  to  the  escort  of  any  British  guard  if  they  were 
aware  of  the  nature  of  the  contents.  Wine  would  be  safe  with 
them,  for  they  can  get  that  anywhere,  but  it  would  be  too 
much  for  the  honesty  of  any  Irishman  if  he  were  to  see  a  cask 
labelled  Irish  whisky." 


390  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

A  week  later  Colonel  Corcoran  said  when  Terence  rode 
in: 

"  By  the  bye,  O'Connor,  there  is  a  cask  of  wine  for  you  at 
my  quarters ;  it  was  brought  up  by  an  ammunition  train  this 
morning.  The  officer  said  that  a  Portuguese  colonel  had 
begged  him  so  earnestly  to  bring  it  up  that  he  could  not  re- 
fuse." 

"  It  was  Herrara,  no  doubt,  Colonel ;  he  has  gone  down  to 
Lisbon  for  a  week. ' ' 

"  Ah  !  I  suppose  he  sent  you  a  keg  of  choice  wine." 

"  You  shall  taste  it  next  time  you  come  out,  Colonel.  I 
have  been  wishing  that  I  had  something  better  than  the  ordi- 
nary wine  of  the  country  to  offer  when  you  come  over  to  see 
me.  I  will  send  over  a  couple  of  men  with  a  cart  in  the  morn- 
ing to  bring  it  out  to  me." 

On  leaving  that  evening  Terence  invited  all  the  officers 
who  could  get  away  from  duty  to  come  over  to  lunch  the 
next  day. 

"  Bring  your  knives  and  forks  with  you,"  he  said  ;  "  and  1 
think  you  had  better  bring  your  plates,  too ;  I  fancy  four  are 
all  I  can  muster." 

Early  next  morning  Terence  told  Bull  and  Macwitty  that 
he  expected  a  dozen  officers  out  to  lunch  with  him.  "  And 
I  want  you  to  lunch  with  me  too.  I  know  that  Captain 
O'Grady  and  others  have  asked  you  several  times  to  go  in 
and  dine  at  mess,  and  that  you  have  not  gone.  I  hope  to-day 
you  will  meet  them  at  luncheon.  I  can  understand  that  you 
feel  a  little  uncomfortable  at  this  first  meeting  with  a  lot  of 
officers  as  officers  yourselves ;  but,  of  course,  you  must  do  it 
sooner  or  later,  and  it  would  be  much  better  doing  so  at 
once. 

"  The  next  thing  is,  what  can  I  give  them  to  eat  ?  I  should 
be  glad  if  you  will  send  out  a  dozen  foraging  parties  in  dif- 


NEWS    FROM    HOME  391 

ferent  directions  ;  there  must  be  little  villages  scattered  among 
the  hills  that  have  so  far  escaped  French  and  English 
plunderers.  Let  each  party  take  four  or  five  dollars  with 
them.  I  want  anything  that  can  be  got,  but  my  idea  is  a 
couple  of  young  kids,  three  or  four  ducks,  or  a  couple  of  geese, 
as  many  chickens,  and  of  course  any  vegetables  that  you  can 
get  hold  of.  My  man  Sancho  is  a  capital  cook,  and  he  will 
get  fires  ready  and  two  or  three  assistants.  They  will  be  here 
by  one  o'clock,  so  the  foraging  parties  had  better  return  by 
ten." 

"  If  there  is  anything  to  be  brought  you  shall  have  it, 
Colonel,"  Bull  said  ;  "  Macwitty  and  I  will  both  go  ourselves, 
and  we  will  get  half  a  dozen  of  the  captains  to  go  too ;  between 
us  it  is  hard  if  we  don't  manage  to  get  enough." 

By  ten  o'clock  the  officers  rode  in,  almost  every  one  of  them 
having  some  sort  of  bird  or  beast  hanging  from  his  saddle-bow; 
there  were  two  kids,  a  sucking  pig,  two  hares,  half  a  dozen 
chickens,  three  geese,  and  five  ducks,  while  the  nets  which  they 
carried  for  forage  for  their  horses  were  filled  with  vegetables. 
Half  a  dozen  fires  had  already  been  lighted,  and  Sancho  had 
obtained  as  many  assistants,  so  that  by  the  time  the  colonel 
and  fifteen  officers  rode  up  lunch  was  ready. 

After  chatting  for  a  few  minutes  with  them,  Terence  led  the 
way  to  a  rough  table  that  was  placed  under  the  shade  of  a 
tree.  Ammunition  boxes  -were  arranged  along  for  seats.  Al- 
though but  a  portion  of  what  had  been  brought  in  had  been 
cooked,  the  effect  of  the  table  was  imposing. 

"  Why,  O'Connor,"  the  colonel  said,  "  have  you  got  one 
of  the  genii,  like  Aladdin,  and  ordered  him  to  bring  up  a  ban- 
quet for  you?  I  have  not  seen  a  winged  thing  since  we 
marched  from  Coimbra,  and  here  you  have  got  all  the  luxuries 
of  the  season.  No  wonder  you  like  independent  action,  if 
this  is  what  comes  of  it ;  there  have  we  been  feeding  on 


392  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

tough  ration  beef,  and  here  are  the  contents  of  a  whole  farm- 
yard." 

Almost  all  the  officers  had  been  out  before,  and  Bull  and 
Macwitty  had  been  introduced  to  them.  They  now  all  sat 
down  to  the  meal. 

"  I  am  sorry  Major  O'Driscol  is  not  here,"  Terence  said. 

"  He  could  not  get  away,"  the  colonel  said,  from  the  other 
end  of  the  table.  "  If  the  general  had  come  round  and  there 
hadn't  been  a  field-officer  left  to  meet  him  there  would  have 
been  a  row  over  it.  I  have  brought  pretty  nearly  all  the 
officers  with  me,  and  I  dared  not  stretch  it  further." 

"O'Grady,"  Terence  said,  "I  wish  you  would  carve  this  hare 
for  me,  I  have  no  idea  how  it  ought  to  be  cut.  I  can  manage 
a  chicken,  or  a  duck,  but  this  is  beyond  me  altogether." 

"  I  will  do  it  gladly,  Terence;  faith,  it  is  a  comfort  to  find 
that  there  is  something  you  can't  do."  And  so,  with  much 
laughter  and  fun,  the  meal  was  eaten. 

1  'You  have  not  told  us  yet  where  you  got  all  these  provi- 
sions, O'Connor,"  the  colonel  said ;  "it  is  too  bad  to  keep 
all  the  good  things  to  yourself. ' ' 

"It  has  been  the  work  of  eight  officers,  Colonel ;  they  rode 
off  this  morning  in  different  directions  among  the  hills,  and 
there  was  not  one  of  them  who  returned  empty-handed." 

"  The  wine  is  fairly  good,"  the  colonel  said,  as  he  set  down 
his  tin  mug  after  a  long  draught,  ' '  but  it  was  scarce  worth 
sending  all  the  way  up  from  Lisbon." 

'  <  That  has  to  follow,  Colonel ;  I  thought  you  would  ap- 
preciate it  better  after  you  had  done  eating." 

"I  have  not  had  such  a  male  since  we  left  Athlone," 
O'Grady  said,  when  at  last  he  reluctantly  laid  down  his  knife 
and  fork.  "Be  jabers,  it  would  be  all  up  with  me  if  the 
French  were  to  put  in  an  appearance  now,  for  faith  I  don't 
think  I  could  run  a  yard  to  save  me  life." 


NEWS    FROM    HOME  393 

The  tin  mugs  were  all  taken  away  and  washed  when  the 
table  was  cleared. 

"You  are  mighty  particular,  O'Connor,"  the  colonel  said. 
"  One  mug  is  good  enough  for  us.  If  we  liquored-up  a  dozen 
times — which,  by  the  way,  we  never  do — one  of  these  wines 
is  pretty  well  like  another,  and  if  there  was  a  slight  difference 
it  would  not  matter." 

When  the  board  was  cleared  a  large  jug  was  placed  before 
Terence,  and  some  water-bottles  at  various  points  of  the  table. 

"I  thought,  Colonel,  that  you  might  prefer  spirits  even  to 
the  wine,"  Terence  said. 

"And  you  are  right,  O'Connor.  A  good  glass  of  wine 
after  a  good  dinner  is  no  bad  thing,  but  after  such  a  meal  as 
we  have  eaten  I  think  that  even  this  bastely  spirit  of  theirs — 
which,  after  all,  is  not  so  bad  when  you  get  accustomed  to  it — 
is  better  than  wine ;  it  settles  matters  a  bit." 

Terence  poured  some  of  the  spirit  from  a  jug  into  his  tin 
and  filled  it  up  with  water.  "  Help  yourself,"  he  said,  pass- 
ing the  jug  to  O'Grady,  who  sat  next  to  him. 

O'Grady  was  about  to  do  so  when  he  suddenly  set  the  jug 
down. 

"  By  the  powers,"  he  exclaimed,  in  astonishment,  "  but  it  is 
the  real  cratur  !  ' ' 

"  Go  on,  O'Grady,  go  on,  the  others  are  all  waiting  while 
you  are  looking  at  it.  If  you  feel  too  surprised  to  take  it,  pass 
the  jug  on." 

O'Grady  grasped  it.     "I  will  defind  it  wid  me  life  !  "  he 
exclaimed.     In  the  meantime  the  colonel  had  filled  his  mug. 
,     "  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  solemnly,  after  raising  it  to  his  lips, 
"  O'Grady  is  right ;  it  is  Irish  whisky,  and  good  at  that." 

"  It  is  a  cruel  trick  you've  played  on  us,"  O'Grady  said, 
with  a  sigh,  as  he  replaced  the  empty  mug  upon  the  table. 
"  I  had  almost  forgotten  the  taste,  and  had  come  to  take 


WITH    MOORE    AT    CORUNNA 

kindly  to  the  stuff  here.  Now  I  shall  have  to  go  through  it 
all  again.  It  is  like  holding  the  cup  to  the  lips  of  that  old 
heathen  Tartarus,  and  taking  it  away  again." 

"Tantalus,  O'Grady." 

"  Och,  what  does  it  matter,  when  he  has  been  dead  and 
buried  thousands  of  years,  how  he  spilt  his  name.  Where  did 
you  get  it  from,  Terence?  " 

"  I  asked  Herrara  to  try  and  find  some  for  me  at  Lisbon ; 
I  thought  it  was  most  likely  that  some  English  merchant  there 
would  have  laid  in  a  stock,  and  it  seems  that  he  has  found 
one." 

"  Do  you  hear  that,  Colonel  ?  There  is  whisky  to  be  had 
at  Lisbon,  and  us  not  know  it." 

"Well,  Captain  O'Grady,  all  I  can  say  is  that  I  shall  at 
dinner  this  evening  move  a  vote  of  censure  upon  you  as  mess 
president  for  not  having  discovered  the  fact  before." 

"Don't  talk  of  dinner,  Colonel;  there  is  not  one  of  us 
could  think  of  sitting  down  to  ration  beef  after  such  a  male  as 
we  have  had — and  with  whisky  here,  too  !  I  move,  Colonel, 
that  no  further  mintion  be  made  of  dinner.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  Terence  will  give  us  some  divilled  bones — there  is  as 
much  left  on  the  table  as  we  have  eaten — before  we  start 
home  to-night." 

"  I  will  do  that  with  pleasure.  In  fact,  it  is  exactly  what  I 
reckoned  upon,"  Terence  replied. 

"I  think,  O'Grady,  we  must  send  to  Lisbon  for  some  of 
this." 

"Is  it  only  think,  Colonel?  Faith,  I  would  go  down  for 
it  myself,  if  I  had  to  walk  with  pays  in  my  boots  and  to  carry 
it  back  on  me  shoulders.  Can  I  find  Herrara  there?"  he 
asked. 

"  Yes,  I  can  give  you  the  address  where  he  will  be  found." 

"Anyhow,  Colonel,"  O'Flaherty  said,  "I  must — and  I'm 


NEWS    FROM   HOME  395 

sure  all  present  will  join  me  in  the  matter — protest  against 
Captain  O'Grady  going  down  to  Lisbon  to  fetch  whisky  for 
the  mess.  You  must  know,  sir,  as  well  as  I  do,  that  he  would 
never  return  again,  and  we  should  probably  hear  some  day 
that  his  body  had  been  found  by  the  side  of  the  road  with 
three  or  four  empty  kegs  beside  him." 

There  was  a  general  burst  of  agreement. 

"  Perhaps,  Doctor  O' Flaherty,"  O'Grady  said,  in  a  tone  of 
withering  sarcasm,  ''it's  yourself  who  would  like  to  be  the 
messenger. ' ' 

"There  might  be  a  worse  one,"  O' Flaherty  said,  calmly; 
"  but  as  I  believe  that  Captain  Hall  is  going  down  on  a 
week's  leave  to-morrow,  I  propose  that  he,  being  an  English- 
man, and  therefore  more  trustworthy  than  any  Irish  member 
of  the  mess  would  be  on  such  a  mission,  be  requested  to  pur- 
chase some  for  the  use  of  the  mess,  and  to  escort  it  back 
again.  How  much  shall  I  say,  Colonel  ?  " 

"  That  is  a  grave  matter,  and  not  to  be  answered  hastily, 
Doctor.  Let  me  see,  there  are  thirty-two  officers  with  the 
regiment.  Now,  what  would  you  say  would  be  a  fair  allow- 
ance per  day  for  each  man  ?  ' ' 

"  I  should  say  half  a  bottle,  Colonel.  There  are  some  of 
them  won't  take  as  much,  but  O'Grady  will  square  matters 
up." 

"I  protest  against  the  insinuation,"  O'Grady  said,  rising; 
"and,  moreover,  I  would  observe,  that  it  is  mighty  little 
would  be  left  for  me  after  each  man  had  taken  his  whack." 

"That  is  sixteen  bottles  a  day.  For  a  continuance  I 
should  consider  that  too  much  ;  but  seeing  that  we  have  been 
out  of  dacent  liquor  for  a  month,  and  may  have  but  a  fort- 
night after  it  arrives  to  make  up  for  lost  time,  we  will  say  six- 
teen bottles." 

"  Make  it  three  gallons,"  O'Grady  said,  persuasively ;  "  we 


396  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

shall  be  having  lots  of  men  drop  in  when  it  gets  known  that 
we  have  got  a  supply." 

1 '  There  is  something  in  that,  O'Grady.  Well,  we  will 
say  three  gallons — that  is,  forty-two  gallons  for  a  fortnight. 
We  will  commission  Captain  Hall  to  bring  back  that  quan- 
tity." 

"If  you  say  forty-five,  Colonel,  it  will  give  us  a  drop  in 
our  flasks  to  start  with,  and  we  are  as  likely  to  be  fifteen  days 
as  fourteen,  anyway. ' ' 

"  Let  it  be  forty-five  then,"  the  colonel  assented.  "  Will 
you  undertake  that,  Captain  Hall  ?  ' ' 

"  Willingly,  Colonel.  I  will  get  the  whisky  emptied  into 
wine  casks,  and  as  I  know  one  of  the  chief  commissaries  at 
Lisbon,  I  can  get  it  brought  up  with  the  wine  for  the 
troops." 

After  sitting  for  a  couple  of  hours,  the  colonel  proposed  that 
they  should  all  go  for  a  walk,  while  those  who  preferred  it 
should  take  a  nap  in  the  shade. 

"I  move,  O'Connor,"  he  said,  "  that  this  meeting  be  ad- 
journed until  sunset. ' ' 

"  I  think  that  will  be  a  very  good  plan,  Colonel." 

The  proposal  was  carried  out.  O'Grady  and  a  few  others 
declared  that  they  should  prefer  a  nap.  The  rest  started  on 
foot,  and  sauntered  about  in  the  shade  of  the  wood  for  a  couple 
of  hours,  then  all  gathered  at  the  table  again.  At  eight 
o'clock  grilled  joints  of  fowls  and  ducks  were  put  upon  the 
table,  and  at  nine  all  mounted  and  rode  back  to  Abrantes. 

"  How  many  of  those  quart  jugs  have  been  filled,  Sancho  ?  " 

"  Eight,  sir." 

"  That  is  not  so  bad,"  Terence  said  to  Macwitty.  "  That 
is  twelve  bottles  ;  and  as  there  were  sixteen  and  our  three 
selves,  that  is  only  about  two  bottles  between  three  men." 

"  I  call  that  vera  moderate  under  the  circumstances,  Colo- 


NEWS    FROM    HOME  397 

nel,"  Macwitty  said,  gravely.     "I  have  drank  more  myself 
many  a  time." 

* '  They  were  a  good  many  hours  over  it  too, ' '  Terence 
added  ;  "  you  may  say  it  was  two  sittings.  You  will  see  that 
we  shall  have  a  great  many  callers  from  the  camp  for  the 
next  few  days." 

A  fortnight  later  Terence  received  a  letter  from  Don  Jose, 
saying  that  he  had  heard  from  his  friend  at  Oporto,  and  that 
they  informed  him  that  the  Sefiora  Johanna  O'Connor  had 
been  killed  at  the  sack  of  Oporto.  She  had  left  her  own  house 
and  taken  refuge  at  the  bishop's.  That  place  had  been  de- 
fended to  the  last,  and  when  the  infuriated  French  broke  in, 
all  within  its  walls  had  been  killed. 

Terence  was  not  altogether  sorry  to  hear  the  news.  The 
woman  had  been  a  party  to  the  cruel  imprisonment  of  Mary. 
No  doubt  his  cousin  would  feel  her  death,  but  her  grief  could 
not  be  very  deep ;  and  it  was,  he  thought,  just  as  well  for  her 
that  her  connection  with  Portugal  should  be  altogether  sev- 
ered. Her  mother  might  have  endeavoured  to  tempt  her  to 
return  there ;  and  although  he  felt  sure  that  she  would  not 
succeed  in  this,  she  might  at  least  have  caused  some  trouble, 
and  it  was  better  that  there  should  be  an  end  of  it.  As  to 
the  woman  herself,  she  had  been  in  agreement  with  the 
bishop,  had  been  mixed  up  in  his  intrigues,  and  her  death 
was  caused  by  her  misplaced  confidence  in  him.  Of  course 
she  had  not  known  that  he  had  left  the  town,  and  thought 
that  under  his  protection  she  would  be  safe  in  the  palace. 

"She  must  have  been  a  bad  lot,"  he  said  to  himself. 
"  Evidently  she  did  not  make  her  husband  happy,  and  perse- 
cuted her  daughter,  and  I  regret  her  death  no  more  than  any 
other  of  the  ten  thousand  people  who  fell  in  Oporto. ' ' 

A  few  days  later  he  received  letters  both  from  his  father 
and  Mary.  Being  under  eighteen  he  opened  the  former  first. 


398  WITH  MOORE  AT  CORUNNA 

My  Dear  Terence, 

I  have  heard  all  about  you  and  your  doings  from  Mary,  and 
I  am  proud  of  you.  It  is  grand  satisfaction  that  you  should 
have  won  your  lieutenancy,  and  that  you  should  be  on  the 
general' }  s  staff ;  as  to  your  being  a  colonel,  although  only  a 
Portuguese  one,  it  is  simply  astounding.  I  don't  care  so  much 
about  the  rank,  for  the  Portuguese  officers  are  poor  creatures,  not 
one  in  fifty  of  them  knows  anything  of  his  duty  ;  but  what  I  do 
value  is  your  independent  command.  That  will  give  you  op- 
portunities for  distinguishing  yourself  that  can  never  fall  in  the 
way  of  a  subaltern  of  the  line,  and  I  fancy,  now  that  you  have 
got  Wellesley  at  the  head,  there  will  be  plenty  of  such  oppor- 
tunities. 

I  was  delighted,  as  you  may  guess,  when  I  got  Mary*  s  letter 
from  London.  I  had  just  settled  at  the  old  house,  and  mighty 
lonely  I  felt  with  no  one  to  speak  to,  and  the  wind  whistling  in 
at  the  broken  windows,  and  the  whole  place  in  confusion.  So 
Cutting  aside  Mary,  I  was  glad  enough  to  have  some  excuse 
for  running  away.  I  took  the  next  coach  for  Dublin  ;  found, 
by  good  luck,  a  packet  just  sailing  for  London  ;  and  got  there 
a  week  later.  She  is  a  nice  girl  and  a  pretty  one  ;  but  I  suppose 
I  need  not  tell  you  that.  I  told  her  it  was  a  poor  place  I  was 
going  to  take  her  to,  but  she  would  be  as  welcome  as  the  flowers 
in  May  /  but  she  only  laughed  and  said,  that  after  being  shut 
up  for  a  year  in  a  single  room,  and  having  nothing  but  bread 
and  water,  it  would  not  matter  a  pin  to  her  what  it  was  like. 

She  was  in  a  grand  house,  and  Mrs.  Nelson  insisted  on  my 
putting  up  there.  We  stopped  three  days  and  then  we  took  ship 
to  Cork.  We  had  to  prove  that  the  money  lying  there  belonged 
to  me  ;  that  is  to  say,  that  I  was  the  person  in  whose  name  it 
had  been  put.  I  had  all  sort  of  botheration  about  it,  but  luckily 
I  knew  the  colonel  of  the  regiment  there,  and  he  went  to  the 
bank  with  me  and  testified.  -Then  we  came  down  here^  and 


NEWS    FROM    HOME  399 

Mary  hadn't  been  here  a  day  before  she  began  to  spend  money. 
I  said  I  would  not  allow  it ;  and  she  said  I  could  not  help  it, 
the  money  was  her  own,  and  she  could  spend  it  as  she  liked \ 
which  was  true  enough  ;  and  at  present  the  place  is  more  topsy- 
turvy  than  ever. 

I  won't  have  anything  to  do  with  giving  orders,  but  she  has 
got  a  score  of  masons  and  carpenters  over  from  Athlone,  and  she 
is  turning  the  old  place  upside  down.  I  sha'n't  know  it  myself 
when  she  has  done  with  it.  There  is  not  a  place  jit  to  sit  down 
in,  and  we  are  living  for  the  time  at  the  inn  at  Kilnally,  three 
miles  away,  and  drive  backwards  and  forwards  to  the  house. 
Except  that  we  quarrel  over  that,  we  get  on  first-rate  together. 
She  is  never  tired  of  talking  about  you,  and  when  I  hinted  one 
day  that  it  was  ridiculous  your  being  made  a  colonel,  she  spurred 
up  like  a  young  bantam,  and  more  than  hinted  that  if  you  had 
been  appointed  commander-in-chief  instead  of  Sir  Arthur  it 
would  not  have  been  beyond  your  deserts. 

My  wound  hurts  me  a  bit  sometimes,  but  I  am  able  to  get 
about  all  right,  and  the  surgeon  says  in  a  few  months  I  shall  be 
able  to  walk  as  straight  as  anyone.  And  so,  good-bye.  I  don't 
think  I  ever  wrote  such  a  long  letter  before,  and  as  Mary  will 
be  telling  you  everything,  I  don't  suppose  I  shall  ever  write  such 
a  long  one  again. 

Terence  laughed  as  he  put  the  letter  down  and  opened  one 
from  his  cousin. 

Dear  Cousin  Terence, 

Here  I  am  with  your  father  as  happy  as  a  bird,  and  as  free. 
I  sing  about  the  place  all  day,  my  heart  is  so  light,  and  should 
be  perfectly  happy  were  it  not  that  I  am  afraid  that  you 
will  be  fighting  again  soon,  and  then  I  shall  be  very  anxious 
about  you.  Your  father  is  just  what  I  thought  he  would  be 


400  WITH    MOORE   AT   CORUNNA 

from  what  I  know  of  you.  He  is  as  kind  as  if  he  was  my  own 
father,  and  reminds  me  of  him.  You  told  me  it  was  a  tumble- 
down old  place,  and  it  is.  When  we  came  it  was  only  fit  for 
owls  to  live  in  ;  so,  of  course,  I  set  to  work  at  once.  Your  father 
was  very  foolish  about  it,  but,  of  course,  I  had  my  way.  What 
is  the  use  of  having  money  and  living  in  an  owVs  nest  ?  So  I 
have  set  a  lot  of  men  to  work. 

Your  father  won't  interfere  with  it  one  way  or  the  other.  I 
had  a  builder  down  ;  he  shook  his  head  over  it  and  said  that  it 
would  be  cheaper  to  pull  it  down  and  build  a  new  one  ;  but  as 
it  was  an  old  family  house  I  could  not  do  that.  However, 
between  ourselves,  I  don't  think  there  will  be  much  of  the  old 
one  left  by  the  time  we  have  finished.  It  looks  awful  at  present. 
I  am  building  a  new  wall  against  the  old  one,  so  that  it  will 
look  just  the  same,  only  it  will  be  new.  The  windows  are  going 
to  be  made  bigger,  and  there  will  be  a  new  roof  put  on.  Inside 
it  will  all  have  to  come  down,  all  the  woodwork  was  so  rotten 
that  it  was  dangerous  to  walk  upstairs.  It  is  great  fun  looking 
after  the  workmen.  And  though  your  father  does  keep  on 
grumbling  and  saying  that  I  am  destroying  the  old  place,  I  don't 
think  he  really  minds. 

As  I  tell  him,  one  could  live  in  a  house  without  windows  nine 
months  in  the  year  in  Portugal,  but  it  is  not  so  in  Ireland.  One 
wants  comfort,  Terence ;  and,  as  I  have  plenty  of  money,  I 
don't  see  why  we  should  not  have  it.  You  can  sleep  on  the 
ground,  and  go  from  morning  till  night  in  wet  clothes,  when 
you  are  on  a  campaign,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  you  should 
do  it  at  other  times.  The  weather  is  fine  here  now,  at  least 
your  father  says  it  is  fine,  and  I  want  to  get  everything  pushed 
on  and  finished  before  it  changes  to  what  even  he  will  admit  is 
wet.  The  people  here  seem  all  very  nice  and  pleasant.  They 
are  delighted  at  having  your  father  back  again.  I  drive 
about  with  him  a  great  deal,  and  we  call  upon  the  neighbours, 


NEWS   FROM   HOME  401 

who  all  seem  very  pleased  that  the  house  is  going  to  be  occupied 
again. 

The  poor  people  seem  very  poor.  I  dorft  know  that  they  are 
poorer  than  they  are  in  Portugal,  but  I  think  they  look  poorer  ; 
but  they  don't  seem  to  mind  much.  I  have  made  great  friends 
with  most  of  the  children  already,  and  always  go  about  with  a 
large  bag  of  sweetmeats  in  what  your  father  calls  "  the  trap." 
I  think  of  you  very  often,  Terence,  and  your  father  and  I 
generally  talk  about  you  all  the  evening.  By  what  he  says 
you  must  have  been  a  very  naughty  boy,  indeed,  before  you  became 
a  soldier.  Do  take  care  of  yourself.  We  shall  be  very,  very 
anxious  about  you  as  soon  as  we  hear  that  fighting  has  begun 
again.  I  hope  you  think  very  often  of  your  very  loving  cousin, 

MARY  O'CONNOR. 

"  She  will  do  a  world  of  good  to  my  father,"  Terence  said 
to  himself  as  he  put  down  the  letters.  « '  After  being  so  long 
in  the  regiment  he  would  have  felt  being  alone  in  that  old 
place  horribly,  especially  as  it  has,  of  course,  been  a  terrible 
trial  to  him  to  be  laid  aside  just  as  a  big  campaign  is  begin- 
ning. She  will  keep  him  alive,  and  he  won't  have  any  time 
to  mope.  Even  if  for  no  other  reason,  it  is  a  lucky  thing 
indeed  that  I  was  able  to  get  Mary  out.  I  sha'n't  feel  a  bit 
anxious  about  him  now." 


THE     END. 


26 


A    LIST    OF    BOOKS 


FOR 


YOUNG    PEOPLE 

By    G.    A.    HENTY 


BY  CONDUCT  AND   COURAGE 

A  Story  of  Nelson's  Days.     Illustrated.     $1.20  net  (postage,  16c.). 

This,  the  last  of  the  celebrated  Henty  Books  ever  to  be  published,  is  a 
rattling  story  of  the  battle  and  the  breeze  in  the  glorious  days  of  Parker 
and  Nelson.  The  hero  is  brought  up  in  a  Yorkshire  fishing  village,  and 
enters  the  navy  as  a  ship's  boy. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  months  after  joining  he  so  distinguishes  him- 
self in  action  with  French  ships  and  Moorish  pirates  that  he  is  raised  to 
the  dignity  of  midshipman.  His  ship  is  afterward  sent  to  the  West 
Indies.  Here  his  services  attract  the  attention  of  the  Admiral,  who 
gives  him  command  of  a  small  cutter.  In  this  vessel  he  cruises  about 
among  the  islands,  chasing  and  capturing  pirates,  and  even  attacking 
their  strongholds.  He  is  a  born  leader  of  men,  and  his  pluck,  foresight, 
and  resource  win  him  success  where  men  of  greater  experience  might 
have  failed.  He  is  several  times  taken  prisoner :  by  mutinous  negroes  in 
Cuba,  by  Moorish  pirates  who  carry  him  as  a  slave  to  Algiers,  and  finally 
by  the  French.  In  this  last  case  he  escapes  in  time  to  take  part  in  the 
battles  of  Cape  St.  Vincent  and  Camperdown.  His  adventures  include  a 
thrilling  experience  in  Corsica  with  no  less  a  companion  than  Nelson 
himself? 

WITH  THE  ALLIES  TO  PEKIN 

A  Tale  of  the  Relief  of  the  Legations.    Illustrated  by  WAL  PAGET. 

$1.20  net. 

In  this  book  the  writer  re-tells  the  story  of  the  Siege  of  Pekin  in  a  way 
that  is  sure  to  grip  the  interest  of  his  young  readers.  The  experience  of 
Rex  Bateman,  the  son  of  an  English  merchant  at  Tientsin,  and  of  his 
cousins,  two  girls  whom  Rex  rescues  from  the  Boxers  just  after  the  first 
outbreak,  offer  a  variety  of  heroic  incident  sufficient  to  fire  the  loyalty  of 
the  most  indifferent  lad. 

THROUGH  THREE  CAMPAIGNS 

A  Story  of  Chitral,  Tirah,  and  Ashanti.    Illustrated  by  WAL  PAGET. 
$1.20  net. 

The  exciting  story  of  a  boy's  adventures  in  the  British  Army.  Lisle 
Bullen,  left  an  orphan,  is  to  be  sent  home  by  the  colonel  of  the  regiment 
on  the  eve  of  the  Chitral  campaign.  The  boy's  patriotism  compels  him, 
instead,  to  secretly  join  the  regiment.  He  early  distinguishes  himself 
for  conspicuous  bravery.  His  disguise  is  discovered  and  his  promotion* 
follow  rapidly. 


BOOKS  FOR  TOUXQ  PfiOPLB 


BY  G.  A.  HENTY 

"  Among  writers  of  stories  of  adventures  for  boys  Mr.  Henty  stands 
fax  the  very  first  ia.uk."— Academy  (London). 


THE   TREASURE   OF   THE   INCAS 

A  Tale  of  Adventure  in  Peru.     With  8  full-page  Illustrations 
by  WAL  PAGET,  and  Map.     $1.20  net. 

Peru  and  the  hidden  treasures  of  her  ancient  kings  offer  Mr.  Henty  a 
most  fertile  field  for  a  stirring  story  of  adventure  in  his  most  engaging 
style.  In  an  effort  to~win  the  girl  of  his  heart,  the  hero  penetrates  into 
the  wilds  of  the  land  of  the  Incas.  Boys  who  have  learned  to  look  for 
Mr.  Henty's  books  will  follow  his  new  hero  in  his  adventurous  and 
romantic  expedition  with  absorbing  interest.  It  is  one  of  the  most  cap- 
tivating tales  Mr.  Henty  has  yet  written. 

WITH  KITCHENER  IN  THE  SOUDAN 

A  Story  of  Atbara  and  Omdurman.     With  10  full-page  Illus- 
trations.   $1.20  net. 

Mr.  Henty  has  never  combined  history  and  thrilling  adventure  more 
skillfully  than  in  this  extremely  interesting  story.  It  is  not  in  boy  nat- 
ure to  lay  it  aside  unfinished,  once  begun ;  and  finished,  the  reader  finds 
himself  in  possession,  not  only  of  the  facts  and  the  true  atmosphere  of 
Kitchener's  famous  Soudan  campaign,  but  of  the  Gordon  tragedy  which 
preceded  it  by  so  many  years  and  of  which  it  was  the  outcome. 

WITH  THE  BRITISH  LEGION 

A  Story  of  the  Carlist  Uprising  of  1836.     Illustrated.     $1.20 

net. 

Arthur  Ballet,  a  young  English  boy,  finds  himself  in  difficulty  at 
home,  through  certain  harmless  school  escapades,  and  enlists  in  the 
famous  "British  Legion,"  which  was  then  embarking  for  Spain  to  take 
part  in  the  campaign  to  repress  the  Carlist  uprising  of  1886.  Arthur 
shows  his  mettle  in  the  first  fight,  distinguishes  himself  by  daring  work 
in  carrying  an  important  dispatch  to  Madrid,  makes  a  dashing  and 
thrilling  rescue  of  the  sister  of  his  patron,  and  is  rapidly  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain.  In  following  the  adventures  of  the  hero  the  reader  ob- 
tains, as  is  usual  with  Mr.  Henty's  stories,  a  most  accurate  and  interest- 
ing history  of  a  picturesque  campaign. 


BOOKS  FOR    YOUNG  PEOPLE 


BY  G.  A.  HENTY 

"  Mr.  Henty  might  with  entire  propriety  be  called  the  bovs*  Sir 
Walter  Scott."— Philadelphia  Press. 


IN  THE   IRISH   BRIGADE 

A  Tale  of  War  in  Flanders  and  Spain.    With  12  Illustrations  by 
CHARLES  M.  SHELDON.    12mo,  $1.50. 

Desmond  Kennedy  is  a  young  Irish  lad  who  left  Ireland  to  join  the 
Irish  Brigade  in  the  service  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France.  In  Paris  he  in- 
curred the  deadly  hatred  of  a  powerful  courtier  from  whom  he  had 
rescued  a  young  girl  who  had  been  kidnapped,  and  his  perils  are  of  ab- 
sorbing interest.  Captured  in  an  attempted  Jacobite  invasion  of  Scot- 
land, he  escaped  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner.  As  aid-de-camp 
to  the  Duke  of  Berwick  he  experienced  thrilling  adventures  in  Flan- 
ders. Transferred  to  the  Army  in  Spain,  he  was  nearly  assassinated, but 
escaped  to  return,  when  peace  was  declared,  to  his  native  land,  having 
received  pardon  and  having  recovered  his  estates.  The  story  is  filled 
with  adventure,  and  the  interest  never  abates. 

OUT   WITH   GARIBALDI 

A  Story  of  the  Liberation  of  Italy.    By  G.  A.  HENTY.    With 
8  Illustrations  by  W.  RAINEY,  R.I.     12mo,  $1.50. 

Garibaldi  himself  is  the  central  figure  of  this  brilliant  story,  and  the 
little-known  history  of  the  struggle  for  Italian  freedom  is  told  here  in 
the  most  thrilling  way.  From  the  time  the  hero,  a  young  lad,  son  of 
an  English  father  and  an  Italian  mother,  joinn  Garibaldi's  band  of 
1,000  men  in  the  first  descent  upon  Sicily,  which  was  garrisoned  by  one 
of  the  large  Neapolitan  armies,  until  the  end,  when  all  those  armies 
are  beaten,  and  the  two  Sicilys  are  conquered,  we  follow  with  the 
keenest  interest  the  exciting  adventures  of  the  lad  in  scouting,  in 
battle,  and  in  freeing  those  in  prison  for  liberty's  sake. 

WITH    BULLER   IN  NATAL 

Or,  A  Born  Leader.     By  G.  A.  HENTY.    With  10  Illustrations 
by  W.  RAINEY.    12mo,  $1.50. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  Boer  War  compelled  Chris  King,  the  hero 
of  the  story,  to  flee  with  his  mother  from  Johannesburg  to  the  sea 
coast.  They  were  with  many  other  Uitlanders,  and  all  suffered  much 
from  the  Boers.  Reaching  a  place  of  safety  for  their  families,  Chris 
and  twenty  of  his  friends  formed  an  independent  company  of  scouts.  In 
this  service  they  were  with  Gen.  Yule  at  Glencoe,  then  in  Ladysmith, 
then  with  Buller.  In  each  place  they  had  many  thrilling  adventures. 
They  were  in  great  battles  and  in  lonely  fights  on  the  Veldt ;  were 
taken  prisoners  and  escaped;  and  they  rendered  most  valuable  service 
to  the  English  forces.  The  story  is  a  most  interesting  picture  of  the 
War  in  South  Africa. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewecl  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

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TIME 

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REC'D  LD 

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MAY  2  7  1965 

LD  21A-40m-4,'63 
(D6471slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


